Outcast
by Sarcasticles
Summary: It's difficult to imagine that a reclusive princess, her ungainly sister, and a wanted criminal could have much in common. But when Anna comes across a strange girl in the forest, it sets off a chain of events that challenges every assumption they have about themselves and each other. Will it be enough to heal their wounded hearts, or are the differences too much to overcome?
1. Three Lonely Girls

_Knock, knock, knock._

No answer. For the gazillionth time in a row the door was shut. Anna didn't know how many times a gazillion was, but it had to be a lot. It hurt when her sister wouldn't open up. It had never been like this before, and Anna didn't understand why it was now. But she refused to give up. She would try and try forever until she finally got a response.

"Elsa, do you want to go outside?"

Silence.

With a heavy sigh, Anna turned away. Maybe tomorrow her sister would want to play. Until then she would have to go out by herself.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock._

Elsa went completely still, not daring to look up from her mathematics book. Today had been a good day so far, quiet, without any accidents. The warm weather helped a little, but there was still a risk, and any risk was too much of a risk when it came to the safety of her sister.

"Elsa, do you want to go outside?"

Even though Anna's voice was muffled by the door it was impossible to miss her pleading tone. It cut Elsa right to the core, and a thin layer of frost spread across her desk.

_Conceal don't feel, conceal don't feel, conceal…_

The frost's advance slowed, and for a moment Elsa thought she had succeeded. Then she watched in horror as it changed texture and color, transforming into _ice_.

A sigh could be heard from behind the door, as could Anna's footfalls as she stomped away.

Elsa pushed back from her desk and brought her hands in close to her chest. There would be water damage to her book, maybe the furniture as well. She still wasn't good enough. There was no way she could go with Anna when her control was this poor.

Blinking back tears, Elsa let her hands fall to her lap, her shoulders slumped forward. It was beginning to feel like she would never be able to play with her sister again.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock._

Nothing. The little cabin in the woods looked to be abandoned. Just to be safe, Robin closed her eyes and called on her power. Duplicates sprouted within the ramshackle building, flooding her mind's eye with half a dozen different views.

There was a hole in the floor where an animal probably denned but no people. A small burst of relief spread through Robin. She was tired and hungry, and above all else lost. This would be a good place to recover.

Robin entered the cabin and curled up in the comfiest spot she could find for a nap. Every time she took a breath a sharp pain exploded through her side—a cracked rib, if she had to guess—and her dress was still wet from her bath in a nearby stream. Still, it didn't take long until she was dead to the world, unaware that while her hiding place was abandoned, it was hardly _unvisited. _

And as Robin slept, a young princess rushed out of her castle, ready to beat back the loneliness of her heart with a well-earned adventure in the forest.


	2. Hide and Seek

Arendelle was beautiful in the summer. The sun shone bright and clear. Birds chirped and squirrels chattered amongst themselves. The forest was green, the sky blue, and the temptation to make mischief unresistible.

If only she had someone to make mischief with.

"It is I, Princess Anna of Arendelle! Who is that, you ask? What a silly question. I am the bravest, wisest, gracefulest…" Anna stumbled on a rock and fell down. She popped up, glancing around to make sure no one saw, and waved a stick (a beautiful scepter in her mind's eye) to her imaginary audience.

"…_Gracefulest_ princess in all the land!"

She paused, tilting her head. "What's that? Someone's in trouble by the palace? I shall go save the day!"

Anna dashed through the woods, not caring when bramble bushes snagged on her dress or if she got twigs stuck in her hair. If Elsa were here she would have called for her to slow down, but Elsa was being a stupid-head and shutting herself in her room.

One crossed brook and two scrapped knees later, Anna's Palace came into view. The little cabin was in disrepair, but Anna thought that it gave it "character". It was a place of Mystery and Intrigue, and was the center of Anna's kingdom.

So what if her only subjects were the woodland creatures? There were plenty of exciting and dramatic goings-on to make up for the lack of human contact. Here no one laughed at her clumsiness or compared her to her sister. Anna was in complete control. This was the _only_ place she felt like she was in control.

Pulling up to a stop, Anna stood as straight as she could and contemplated what game she should play her options. Rescue the Prince was always a possibility, as was Tea Party with all the foreign ambassadors. Tag wasn't very fun by one's self, nor was hide and seek.

Anna was making a face at the thought of playing tag alone when she thought she saw a shadow through the window of the cabin. Curious, she made her way to the door. Sometimes she saw a fox or a badger, but those weren't big enough to be seen through the window. Had a deer gone inside, or maybe a bear? Anna had seen a bear once at a circus and thought it was cute.

She crept up as sneakily as she knew how, trying not to spook whatever was inside. She was almost there when the door burst open and a figure ran out into the woods. It wasn't a deer, and it certainly wasn't a bear. Anna yelped and took a step back in surprise as a girl blew past without having the decency to say hello. A person was in her palace! An actual person! It happened so quickly Anna didn't get a good look at the girl, except she was wearing a dark colored dress and had black hair.

"Hey, wait!" Anna cried.

Silence. Whoever it was had even startled the birds into being quiet.

No, not this time. It was one thing for Elsa to ignore her, it was another for someone to use _her _palace without permission and then run away without even making introductions.

Anna ran after the mysterious person, having decided upon a game. If the person wanted to play hide and seek, then hide and seek it was.

* * *

All Robin wanted was one day where she didn't have to run for her life.

At least it wasn't the marines this time. Or a mob. Or pirates. Actually, compared to normal, having to run from a little girl wasn't too bad. It was annoying that she lost her cabin, but it was summer and the weather was nice. She could sleep outside if she needed to.

However her pursuer was unusually persistent, and had the advantage of knowing the forest. Robin ran and ran, but she was exhausted and weak. She thought about using her power, before pushing that back as a last resort. Her power called attention to herself, which was the last thing Robin wanted in this situation.

Robin couldn't even concentrate on using her ability and running at the same time, relying on her natural senses to lose the girl. The farther she went the closer the trees grew together and the thicker the underbrush became, sticks and thorns grabbing at her clothes and hair.

"Hold up!" a high-pitched voice called. It sounded closer this time. Robin's breath hitched as she slid to a stop, just in time to avoid dropping into a shallow ravine.

She looked behind her to see the other girl stop some twenty feet away. The girl doubled over to catch her breath, a wide smile on her face. Robin felt her stomach drop.

"Finally…caught you!" the girl panted. Robin didn't answer and looked for a way out, but the only way to go was down. Purposefully falling down a ravine ranked only slightly higher than using her Devil Fruit on her list of potential escape plans.

"My name's…Anna," she continued. "Pleased to meet you."

The girl, Anna, paused, waiting for Robin to say something. When she didn't, the girl's smile faltered and she looked down at her dress. "I'm a mess, aren't I? It was fun, though, running like that. Why didn't you stop? Didn't you hear me call?"

Robin swallowed. The girl seemed harmless enough. Red-blonde hair was falling out of twin braids, and her expensive-looking green dress was in dirty disarray after her flight through the forest. Her eyes made Robin nervous, though. They were too excited, too interested for her own good. Most children would not have chased for so long, but this girl had. That alone made her dangerous.

"Maybe you didn't. I thought you might be a bear at first. I'd run too if I thought I was being chased by a bear, even though they are cute."

Robin frowned at the rapid change of thought.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I got carried away. You're awfully quiet. Can't you talk?"

What could she say that would make the girl lose interest and go away? Or maybe the girl could tell her where she was? Clenching her hands, Robin looked at the ground, unsure of what to do.

"You can't!" Anna said after a moment, putting a hand to her mouth in shock. Sometime during her rambling she had come closer to Robin, forcing her to take another half-step backwards. "I'm so sorry! I've been blabbing on this whole time, and you can't even talk! Do you…do you have a name? I mean, of course you have a name, but can you write it for me?"

Anna was within five feet of Robin now, which was much too close. Every instinct was shouting at her to run. When the girl lifted her foot to take a step, Robin acted without thinking. She called up a duplicate arm from the ground to grab her ankle, making a pulling motion with her real arm that the phantom copied. Anna dropped to one knee, and Robin bolted, making sure to release her power before Anna could see what had tripped her. This time, despite her cramping legs and burning lungs, she made sure she was not caught.

* * *

It was late before Elsa heard her sister knock again. It surprised her a little; Elsa didn't think Anna would be let out of her room. Then again, Anna always told her about her day before going to bed, no matter what. It was the one time of day Elsa was guaranteed to smile. Her sister told entertaining stories.

Apparently today Anna had come back from the woods—which were forbidden to her—dirty and hurt. Hearing about it was enough to make Elsa's chest tighten with anxiety. Today it was a game that had gotten out of control, but what other trouble would Anna's carelessness get her into? It had always been Elsa's job to watch over her, but now…

Now that was impossible.

"I met someone new today," Anna said, voice practically bouncing with glee despite being grounded. "We played tag. I think you'd like her. She doesn't talk either."

Elsa sat with her back to the door, not thinking much about the "new friend". Anna always imagining things and playing games. What really mattered was that she had returned safely.

"…I drew a picture! I'll show it to you!" Elsa moved her hand as a piece of paper pushed against it. She smiled as she opened it up. It showed two figures surrounded by trees. One was labeled Anna—as if Elsa needed the hint—while the other had a big question mark over her head.

Elsa's smile faded. Anna's imaginary friends always had blonde hair and blue eyes. The unknown girl's hair was black and her eyes brown. Anna had given her a plain purple dress, a garment that neither of them owned.

Was her sister's imagination shifting, finally replacing Elsa with someone else after being rejected so long? Or was the girl in the forest real and Anna was running after strangers?

Elsa shoved the paper back under the door before her power could ruin it, unable to decide which option was worse.


	3. Stilling the Storm

Robin was still lost.

After the disastrous run-in with the girl in the woods, Robin decided that perhaps the city was a safer place to hide. She had stolen some clothing in the local style, tied her hair in a braid, and tried to stay out of sight. It worked. Wearing a simple blouse with matching skirt and a pair of sturdy black boots, Robin didn't look much different than the people in this unknown land. Her plan was perfectly simple: find a map, board a ship, and get back on track with her dream.

Except this place, this _Arendelle_, was a kingdom not of her world.

The map was all wrong. Huge tracts of land replaced what should be open seas. Places like _Corona_ and _The Southern Isles_ took the spot of the more familiar Alabasta and Mariejois. The Four Blues were nonexistent, the Calm Belt was conspicuously absent, and the Red Line simply not there at all. She had discovered this all a week ago, and since then the differences only became more pronounced.

Robin ducked down the secluded alleyway that she claimed as her own, a stolen apple in her pocket and an equally stolen newspaper tucked under one arm. She crouched down behind a crate and began scourging the paper. A phantom arm flipped open her journal (_also _stolen) and began taking notes with a charcoal pencil.

There were no stories of international criminals. In fact, since awakening in the forest Robin could count on one hand the number of times she had heard pirates mentioned. All the bounties posted were of local bandits, and the local currency was speciedaler instead of bellies.

There was no World Government, no marines, no Warlords. Robin read no statistics on sea king attacks, heard no speculation on Devil Fruits, and saw nothing that reminded her of home.

Where in the world was she? On _what _world was she? Robin took a bite of her apple and scanned her notes so far.

"_Outcast_," she muttered to herself, refusing to think too deeply into the ramifications of that word. But the fact remained that she was in unfamiliar territory—potentially out of her own _universe_—and had no idea how to get back.

* * *

In the two weeks after being grounded, Anna explored every inch of the castle more than once, rode her bicycle around the ballroom until Gerda made her stop, and invented stories for every single portrait that hung on the walls. She spent time with her parents, dove into her lessons with great enthusiasm, and occasionally slept. The punishment, much to Anna's surprise, wasn't all that bad.

At first.

Eventually she ran out of things to do. There were only so many conversations one could have with Joan. Being bored was one of the worst feelings in the world, and these days it felt like boredom was seeping into every minute of every day.

On top of it all, Elsa was starting to give her strange looks. Dinner was the one time the family came together. Usually Elsa kept her eyes glued to her plate and ignored Anna's attempts at getting her to join the conversation, excusing herself from the table as soon as it was polite. The past few days had been different. More than once Anna caught Elsa _staring. _As soon as Anna would try and make eye contact, her sister would make a face and go back to eating, cheeks pink with embarrassment. Such behavior was so very _un_Elsa-like it made Anna squirm in her seat. Their father noticed, and would look at them both with concern, which made their mother look at _him _with concern. Dinner became the uncomfortable hour where everyone would give everyone else weird looks without ever saying what was bothering them.

Enough was enough. Anna couldn't stand this level of strangeness, not when she was locked up with no way to escape. Until now she had been content with politely asking her sister to open up, accepting the silence with a resigned hurt and the hope that tomorrow would be different. Not anymore. No more Little Miss Nice Princess. It was time to roll up her sleeves and demand answers.

Half an hour before her bedtime Anna made the long walk down the hall to her sister's room. The white-painted door was the only thing that stood between them. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching and raised her hand to knock.

_What makes you think tonight will be any different?_ A nasty voice in her head asked. Anna faltered, her knuckles just inches from the door. _She's not going to answer. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. _

_I've got to try_, Anna thought. _No one else will, so I've got to. She's my sister._

That made the nasty voice shut up, and after taking a few moments to gather every bit of courage she had, Anna knocked on the door.

"Elsa, open up! I'm not leaving 'till you do!"

* * *

These days the gloves didn't leave Elsa's hands. They were the only thing that kept her power in check, the only thing that made sure those around her were safe.

Her power was changing. Elsa didn't think _more powerful_ was the right words to describe what she felt, but something was definitely different. It was spastic, less controllable, raging against her carefully crafted defenses like a trapped animal. If Elsa was not in perfect control always there was no doubt it _would _find a way out, about that there was no question.

It hadn't always been this way. Before accidentally hurting Anna, the cold inside had been perfectly calm, like the hush after the first snow of the year. Elsa would give anything to have that feeling back, but every time she tried it seemed just out of reach. In fact, since Anna's return to the forest things were worse than ever.

Elsa wanted desperately to ask her sister more about the girl in her drawing, but couldn't trust herself to do so. The stark realization that Anna was growing up and changing without her hit Elsa like a ton of bricks. It was her duty as the older sister to be there for Anna, but she couldn't, no matter how badly she wanted to.

It made Elsa feel ashamed and lonely and a failure all at the same time, and the ugly feelings beat down on the wall that held back her power, weakening its already-shaky foundations.

Elsa was losing the battle to hold back the storm inside. She wondered what terrible things she would do once it was let loose.

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK_

"Elsa, open up! I'm not leaving 'till you do!"

She couldn't handle this tonight. Elsa backed up against a wall and slid to the ground, covering her ears with her hands, trying to block all the noise out so she could concentrate on keeping everything else in.

"Please, Elsa? I know you want to say something. Just open the door."

"Go away, Anna," Elsa cried, a note of desperation in her voice.

"No! I wanna know why you won't talk to me."

"Please," Elsa whispered so quietly she wasn't sure Anna heard. "Just…go away."

For a moment there was no answer, and Elsa thought her sister had left. Instead of feeling relief, her power roared, an icy, bitter cold so strong it _hurt _to keep it contained.

She didn't hear the door handle turn or notice when it opened just enough for one small girl to slip through. She didn't see Anna's shocked face at the sight of her sister hiding in the corner. In her misery, Elsa only knew a hopelessness she was becoming all-to-familiar with.

"Elsa," a small voice said, "what's wrong?"

Elsa jerked up in horror. Anna was here. In her _room. _The one place their father had explicitly forbidden she go. She tried to back away as her sister took a hesitant step forward, but there was no place to run.

"You can't be here, Anna! G-go away!"

But Anna didn't leave, not even as a layer of ice spread across the floor and crept up the wall. Elsa was anchored in place, too terrified to move lest she lose control completely. As her sister approached, she squeezed her eyes closed and turned her head away.

Warm fingers brushed across her cheek, melting the tears that had frozen there.

"Elsa, why are you crying?"

Her sister's voice was soft and innocent and without a hint of revulsion.

Anna made a distressed noise. "Don't be sad! I don't like it when you're sad!"

Then Anna did something truly remarkable and hugged her sister. It was the first human contact in as long as Elsa could remember, and her world went quiet, just like the hush after the first snow.


	4. Past and Present

Agdar felt uneasy. Instinct honed by years as a father and king told him something wasn't right. He tried to push his unease away, but it continued to circle back again and again, nagging worse than a fishmonger's wife.

He was up to date on all matters of State. The ink continued to dry on the new trade agreement between Arendelle and Weselton, a venture that was to be beneficial to both kingdoms. There was nothing at all that demanded his immediate attention.

Yet was something he had forgotten. There had to be. Nothing else could explain how tense he felt.

"Have you spoken to Anna yet?" Idun asked, putting one comforting hand to his shoulder.

"No," Agdar said heavily, unable to meet his wife's expectant gaze. "I was waiting for her to go back to her room. You know how she always likes to say goodnight."

Perhaps it was wrong to let his daughter get away with sneaking out of her room after bedtime, but Agdar didn't have it in him to deny her. It was for the good of both his daughters. Agdar knew how his eldest clung to those nightly visits, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"Agdar, she went down an hour ago. Surely she's finished by now."

The king jerked his head up towards the staircase, heart beating frantically as he realized what had been bothering him. He had heard Anna's footsteps as she made her nightly trek to Elsa's door, but had not heard her go _back_.

He took the stairs three at a time, barely hearing his wife's calls for him to stop. Maybe it was nothing, but after that night (that horrible night) he wasn't going to take any chances.

Elsa's door hung open, and the cry on Agdar lips died as his throat constricted with fear. The temperature in the air dropped to a crisp coolness as he entered Elsa's room, her domain. The one place she was allowed to be herself without being a danger to others.

Only tonight she wasn't alone. Ice clung to the walls, twisted in sinister patterns of clear blue and white. Frost covered the floor. He gasped and could see his breath

Elsa looked utterly confused (_but not unhappy_, some distant part of his mind noted), sitting with her back against the wall and Anna by her side. His youngest, to Agdar's immediate relief, was not harmed in any obvious way. Anna leaned against her sister, reminiscent of…_before_, when there had been no white in her hair and Elsa smiled freely.

Agdar felt rather than saw his wife come up behind him as Anna looked up and smiled enormously. Elsa hugged herself in guilt and shame. The ice crept a few inches father, but slowed to a stop when Anna gave her an awkward one-sided hug.

"Hey, Papa, guess what! Elsa's got _magic!_"

The king looked at his wife helplessly. All they had worked for, the sacrifice, was gone. Anna _knew_, and if the state of this room was any indication, Elsa had yet to learn how to control her power.

* * *

_Robin dove to the ground as bullets whistled through the air. Somewhere a man screamed out in agony, only for that scream to cut off abruptly as he met his end from the advancing marines. Robin ignored it, crawling through the mud towards safety. This crew was finished, and if she couldn't make it to the trees she was just as dead. _

_The massacre continued, and confused pirates fell in droves. They had been tricked. There was no other explanation for the sudden, devastating ambush. _

"_Fire in the hole!" _

_Robin scrambled to her feet and broke into a dead sprint, ducking her head as low as possible to avoid exposure. To her left a cannon exploded, close enough to throw her to the ground. When she put her hands to her ears to make the ringing stop, she felt blood. _

I'm not going to die here_, Robin thought, forcing herself to her knees with a groan. _I can't die here.

_A sharp pain exploded through her side as someone kicked her in the ribs. Instinctively Robin activated her power, but her concentration broke when a foot slammed between her shoulder blades and pinned her down. It became difficult to breathe as mud went up her nose, and panic began to overtake her rational mind. _

_Arms sprouted from every direction, most of them ineffective as Robin was unable to identify her attacker. A surprised voice swore, and she concentrated the phantom appendages in that direction. She managed to knock a marine over before the boot heel digging into her back made her cry out in pain. _

"_You're surrounded, Demon. For every one of us you defeat there are three more ready to take his place," a voice sounded over the chaos of the battlefield. "Surrender."_

_Robin turned her head and glared hatefully. Again she called upon her Devil Fruit, sprouting two arms that hit the back of his knees, making them buckle. That was enough to allow her to squirm away and get back on her feet, real arm holding the side that felt like it was on fire. _

_It wasn't enough for her to get to the forest._

_A hand grabbed Robin around the back of her neck and spun her around. She was brought face to face with a tall marine, dirt and grime miring the white suit that marked him as a captain rank or higher. He snarled at her and threw her back to the ground. Robin was given no time to react as he pounced on her, holding her neck with one hand while bringing the other over her face. An electric hum filled the air as his hand began to glow orange-red, blinding her to her surroundings. _

Devil Fruit_, Robin thought dully. _

"_I'm going to make sure you never hurt anyone again!"_

I can't die here.

"_Outcast!"_

Robin jerked awake, rolling out of the nest of rags she was used for a bed. Cold sweat covered her body, and the slight breeze was enough to make her shiver. She wiped her face with shaking hands, surprised to find her eyes were wet with tears.

The memory played in her head again and again, haunting even her dreams. There was the tall marine in the dirty suit, the tugging sensation as his Devil Fruit banished her to this unknown land, waking up in a forest that _looked _oh-so-familiar, but was different than any reality she knew. Being lost and confused, not _knowing…_

Huddling in on herself, Robin pushed back the memories. She hated not knowing, but didn't trust herself to think about it. If she did, the _other _nightmares would return, the ones that featured her mother and Saul and what the Government had done to her home.

Historians were supposed to remember the past, but Robin had not reached the point where she could remember without obsessing. It clouded her judgment, and with the stakes as high as they were Robin could afford no mistakes.

The local gossip and papers did her no good. No map was going to get her back to the West Blue, and the dream her loved ones had died for depended on her getting back. Robin refused to believe she could be permanently stuck in Arendelle. Just because she didn't _know _the way didn't mean one didn't exist. She just needed more information.

A pang of longing ached in her heart when she remembered the Tree of Knowledge and all the books it held. She could have found an answer there, Robin was sure of it.

Robin set her head on her arms and squinted out into the gloomy darkness. Books. She needed _books. _Not the whitewashed, superficial volumes that would be readily available for sale, but the secret histories and texts that told the past as it really was. She hadn't seen any universities or libraries during her exploration through the city which—barring private collections she had no way of finding—left one place that _might _have what she was looking for.

It was risky, but Robin thought she might be able to pull it off. There were no Devil Fruits here, giving her the advantage. All that was left was to finish scouting, something she guessed would take only a few more days.

A few more days until she had the intelligence she needed. Maybe, with luck, she would be back to looking for poneglyphs within the week.

The memory of what awaited her came to her mind unbidden. Again Robin shivered, before hiding her face in her arms. So far no one in this world had treated her like a criminal. Some had even gone so far as to offer some small kindness or other when they saw she roamed the city without supervision. It was…nice. But Robin continually reminded herself that it was all a façade. Fake. _Not real_. No matter how nice people pretended to be she did not belong here. She could wish her real life was half as pleasant, but that didn't change the fact unless she went back her goals would be forever out of reach.

Eventually Robin fell back into a restless sleep, half-formed plans swirling through her mind and the ghosts of her past haunting her every thought.


	5. Uncertain Futures

Agdar was beside himself. The king, usually so sure, was now at a loss. For days he wandered around the castle in a stupor, ignoring family and servants alike as he tried to come to terms with the fact Anna knew her older sister had magic.

Enough was enough. Idun laid down her embroidery as her husband entered their bedroom and watched him pace with a critical eye. Lank, unwashed hair fell over his forehead. His face was wan, lips pursed together into a nearly invisible line and his brow was knit together in worry. It looked as if he had slept in his clothes, although Idun knew he hadn't laid down long enough for a proper sleep since Anna had snuck into Elsa's room.

"I was beginning to think I should send out a search party."

Agdar's head snapped to attention, and Idun wondered if he had even noticed her presence. "What? For whom?"

"The king. Rumor has it he hasn't been seen for a week. I hear even the queen doesn't know where he's gone." Idun gestured to the chair beside hers. "Please, sit for a while."

He hesitated for a moment, before slumping his shoulders in defeat.

"What am I supposed to do now? Go back to the trolls?" he asked as he sat, running his fingers through his hair. It was a nervous habit that Idun had only seen a few times before in moments of great stress, and more than anything else betrayed how at war he was with himself.

Agdar was a good king. He would often agonize over decisions, weighing all the possible outcomes before making a choice. Once the choice was made, however, he stood firm and saw it through to the end. He listened to council, but was not one to waver. Idun often joked that Anna had gotten her stubbornness from his side of the family.

But the firm tenacity that made him a good king often translated to inflexibility as a father, something she could no longer ignore.

"Husband, dear, you will do no such thing," Idun said calmly as she returned to her needlework.

"But…Anna…"

"This is not just about Anna!" Agdar recoiled at her tone. Pausing to take a deep breath, Idun continued, "Agdar, Elsa turned twelve this year."

"Yes, and…?"

"Your daughter is growing up. She is changing; her _body _is changing. Do you understand how frightening that is for a girl?"

The baffled look he gave her confirmed that he did not.

"Any girl is going to feel isolated and confused, powers or no. In some ways she is expected to act like an adult, while still feeling like a child. She's not going to be comfortable talking to us anymore. There will be new pressures and responsibilities, feelings she doesn't understand—"

"All the more reason to keep them separated!" Agdar interrupted. "If she can't keep her power under control now, how can we expect her to keep it under control as she goes through puberty?"

"Elsa had her best control when she was allowed to see Anna. We've been trying things your way for years now, and with no results. Don't you think it's time to stop?"

"Don't you dare blame this on me!" Agdar snapped. "I did what I thought was best for both of them!"

"Yes, I know! But don't you see? This separation is destroying her. It's destroying them both." Idun rubbed her eyes as her vision blurred with tears. "Anna's so lonely she's chasing shadows through the woods. Elsa can't leave her room without feeling afraid. And to what end? Elsa has no more control then she did four years ago. Less, if the constant need to refurbish her room is any indication."

"I…but," Agdar croaked. "What if Anna gets hurt again? What if she strikes her heart?"

The question hung heavily, and Idun had no answer. She reached over and grabbed her husband's hand, unable to look him in the eye.

"What if Elsa forgets what it feels like to be loved without reservation? What sort of queen would she become?" Idun squeezed his hand as Agdar choked back a sob. "Did you see it? Anna hugged Elsa. When was the last time she let either one of us do the same?"

"I don't want them to get hurt."

"Neither do I, but—"

"Mama! Mama guess what!"

Idun jumped as Anna burst through the door without invitation. Wearing her bedtime clothes and stockings she was barely able to slide to a stop on the wood floor. After a wobbly moment she regained her balance and beamed up at her parents.

"Anna! Your father and I are having a private conversation."

Her smile didn't falter. "But Mama, you've gotta come quick! The girl from the forest is here! We found her in the library, and Elsa used her magic to keep her from running away again."

Idun and Agdar shared twin looks of horror and ran to the library, outpacing Anna in their rush. They didn't think about how someone had managed to enter the castle unnoticed. Only one thing mattered: Their daughter had once again used magic against a person. They could only pray that despite all evidence to the contrary, Elsa's control had improved from that disastrous accident four years ago.


	6. Secrets of the Library

_Let's turn the clock back half an hour…_

Questions. Anna had endless questions. When had Elsa gotten her magic? Why had no one told her? How had she managed to keep it a secret for so long? Did their parents know? Did Kai and Gerta? Could she do more than make ice? Would she make a snowman?

"No!" Elsa exclaimed in exasperation. "Why would I want to make a snowman?"

Anna stopped, abashed, and looked at the ground. "I dunno. You always used to. I remember that much."

Her sister hesitated, taking a fugitive glance behind her to make sure they were alone. "I…I can't. I'll mess up."

"You always say that."

"Because it's true," Elsa insisted. "You saw what happened in my room."

"Hmph," Anna pouted, but she found it impossible to stay glum for long. Slipping her hand into her sister's, Anna dashed in the direction of the ballroom. "You just need to practice!"

"Anna, stop!" Elsa said, but she couldn't help but laugh.

"Why?"

"Because it's nighttime. You're supposed to be in bed."

"But there's so much I need to know!" Anna said. "I haven't had fun together in _forever!_ There'll be time to sleep later!"

Elsa stopped, crossing her arms across her chest. Anna was so _eager_, wanting to pick up their friendship right where it had left off. She didn't understand that Elsa had to be careful. The storm inside had calmed considerably, but the going was still treacherous. It would flair at unexpected intervals, and the times Elsa tested herself her power was…_uneven_. That was the best word she could think of. Sometimes it would do what she wanted, but she would get interrupted or distracted and it would swell and break away from her control.

The effortless displays she managed as a child were still outside her reach. There would be no snowmen for quite some time, and no matter how Elsa tried to explain Anna didn't understand.

"But if you don't go to bed you'll be too tired to do anything tomorrow when the sun's up."

Anna scrunched her face. "You sound like a grandma. Is that why you've got white hair, 'cause you're secretly a grandma?"

"Anna!"

"I'm joking!" she giggled. "It's your magic, right? Because it looks like snow?"

"…I don't know. Maybe," Elsa said, hand unconsciously going to her braid. She had never really thought about it before.

"Then why do I have white in my hair, too? I don't have any magic. At least, I don't think so."

Elsa's breath hitched, and the temperature in the air dropped. She didn't want to talk about this. Father and Mother promised she didn't have to; even if Anna knew about her power now didn't mean she had to know why they had hidden it in the first place. Anna would never forgive her if she learned that Elsa had hurt her.

"Elsa?"

Shaking herself out of her mood and trying desperately to halt the film of frost that was spreading below her feet, Elsa looked her sister square in the eye.

"Come on, there's something I want to show you."

"Where are we going?" Anna asked, running to catch up with Elsa as she strode down the corridor. There was an edge of fear laced with the excitement that hadn't been there before, and it was all Elsa could do to ignore that, too.

* * *

Breaking into the castle was suspiciously easy.

_Where are all the guards?_ Robin thought as she pulled herself over the battlement of the outer wall. Closing her eyes, she crossed her arms into an X shape and concentrated on her power.

"_Ojos Fleur_."

Eyes sprouted in rooms and around corners. There was no one to be seen, no soldiers, no servants, and no nobility. Frowning, Robin added ears, hoping to hear the rustle of cloth or the clanging of armor as soldiers walked their rounds. Other than an owl hooting in the distance, the castle was silent. She didn't have the range to cover every room or corridor, but she should have heard _someone_.

She had seen merchants and dignitaries using the trade entrances during the day, so it wasn't as if the place was abandoned. Supposedly the king and queen lived here with their two daughters, but if that was the case why wasn't there any security?

A feeling of misgiving came over her as she listened, until her ears finally picked up the sound of footsteps. Robin pressed herself against the cold stone walls, but the person—whoever they were—never turned the corner.

Okay, so there wasn't _no one_, just very few. A skeleton crew to guard the royal family.

That still didn't make any sense.

Robin chewed on her lower lip as her mind reeled. She was cautious by nature, and every alarm bell in her head was telling her that there was something very wrong. In any other situation she would have abandoned her mission until she had more information.

She couldn't afford to wait. Robin didn't know the nature of the Devil Fruit that banished her. Was there a time limit until the effects became permanent? Would she eventually forget who she was and where she came from? The thought terrified her, and spurned her to take risks that she otherwise never would have considered.

Risks like breaking into a castle on the one in a million chance it would help her get back home.

Against her better judgment Robin continued her journey, climbing up one of the tall spires. It was dark, and there was nothing to break the wind this high up. The chain of arms she used to move from one ledge to the next swayed dangerously. A fall from here meant certain death, but Robin didn't care. It was as simple as climbing up the rigging during a squall.

Her foot slipped on the clay tiles that covered the roof, and Robin fell hard on her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. For a moment her shoulders felt the force of her weight magnified times ten as each phantom limb transferred the strain to her real body. Biting back a cry of pain, Robin scrambled to regain her balance, just barely making it to a window sill before her extra arms dissipated out of existence in a flurry of petals.

_Deep breaths,_ she thought as she leaned her head against the cool pane of glass. _Don't make any noise. No one can know you're here._

Her shoulders throbbed in response. She rolled one experimentally, and couldn't stop a whimper from escaping her lips. There would be no more arm ropes tonight.

It made her mission that much more difficult, but wasn't enough to make her stop. After taking a moment to collect herself, Robin again closed her eyes and sent out scores of eyeballs. It looked like she had perched herself outside of an unused drawing room. Growing an arm from the inside, she undid the latch. The window swung open with a soft creak. Robin winced at the sound, but there was no one around to hear it.

She crawled through the window, silently making the short drop to the ground before summoning an extra arm close the window. Robin let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She was in. Now came the hard part.

Moonlight streamed in through the many windows, giving her more than enough light to see. With a soft whisper Robin sent out her eyes. One plump woman was cleaning what she guessed was the main ballroom, but otherwise she was alone.

In her mind's eye, one room stood out among the rest. Robin's heart began to pound when she saw it: the royal library. Shelves and shelves of books filled the room, stacked from ground to ceiling. Her goal was now literally in sight. With a trembling hand Robin opened the door and slipped into the hallway, letting her power guide her to her only hope.

* * *

Robin made it to her destination unharried and unseen. Her ears picked up the sound of girls—the princesses, maybe?—but they were far away and unlikely to go to the library at this hour. Nevertheless, Robin moved as quickly as she dared. These strange people didn't even have a den-den mushi to monitor the hallways, but this was still the home of royalty. She couldn't press her luck, no matter how many interesting suits of armor adorned the walls begging to be investigated.

Robin reached pair of large mahogany doors and paused, and swallowing hard against the lump in her throat. Her heart beat so loudly she was sure the noise would echo down the lonely halls. Slowly she turned the brass doorknob and pushed. The door swung inward silently, its hinges well oiled.

After one last check to make sure she was truly alone, Robin dismissed her eyes and ears. The superfluous sensory input made it difficult to concentrate at the task at hand. She traced a finger along the edge of a desk as she walked from the antechamber to the library proper, calmed by the smell of wood polish and paper dust. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips at the sight of the king's personal library.

Her eyes—with their limited perception—had not done to place any justice. Lines upon lines of bookcases filled the room and lined the walls. A single oil portrait depicting a stern-faced scholar hung from the back of the room, looking down severely as if he were a taskmaster spurning on a lazy student. A roll of carpet lay along the main aisles, deadening the sound of her footsteps.

It felt like home. There was an atmosphere of quiet learning, and for the first time in a very long time Robin felt a stirring deep inside. It was the same feeling that had sparked her dream all those years ago, and the same feeling that kept her from losing all hope despite her terrible circumstance. There were secrets to be learned here, mysteries that she could pursue without abandon. There was history hidden in this room. Robin could feel it, and wished she had the time to seek it out.

_Focus. You've got a job to do, and it doesn't involve slavering over a couple of books._

Robin turned her head, trying to look everywhere at once. _Okay, more than a couple, but it's nothing you haven't seen before._

She went down an aisle and picked a tome at random. The title had long since worn off the old leather cover. She opened it, hoping to find some clue as to how the books were organized…

Only for the bottom to drop out of her stomach as Robin realized she had made a horrible assumption.

She couldn't read it.

The words were not formed in the alphabet Robin was used to, nor the ancient characters she studied in secret. It looked as if a bird had dipped its feet in ink and danced across the page. Frantically Robin turned the page, and then another, but it was all the same. She put the book back and pulled out another, but it too was covered in the chicken-scratch runes she had no idea how to interpret.

"No. No, no, nonono…"

Robin leaned her head against the bookcase, biting her lip to keep from screaming in frustration. She doubted _every _book was written in the unknown language—she had been able to read the newspaper without any problems, after all—but the unexpected setback was a harsh blow.

The irony of the situation was not lost on Robin as tears prickled at the corner of her eyes. The girl originally damned by her ability to read a certain language was damned again by her inability to read another. It the latest cruel injustice in the long line of injustice that had shaped her life so far.

Robin might have wallowed in her misery all night, but the sudden sound of the library door opening and shutting, followed by a girlish giggle snapped her back to attention. She had wasted too much time, and now there was no place for her to hide.

* * *

"The library?" Anna asked incredulously. "What's there to see in the _library_?"

Elsa shot her a _look_, one that said there was plenty to see. Anna stuck her tongue out in response, but obediently followed her sister. They were sneaking out together in the dead of night, just like old times. The excitement was almost too much for Anna to contain, although she did her best. The fun would be ruined if someone caught them.

"Do you remember the stories Mother used to tell us at night? Elsa whispered.

"Which ones?"

"The fairy tales. The ones with giants, and heroes, and…"

"Magic?" Anna asked, clapping her hands together.

"Yes, the ones with magic." Elsa shuddered and hugged herself a little. She crossed her arms a lot when she was nervous, Anna noticed, as if she was trying to throw up one last barrier between herself and the world. But there was no need for barriers now, not between sisters. Anna smiled at her encouragingly.

"I remember. What about them?"

"Did she ever tell you any stories about the troll—" Elsa stopped mid-word and frowned. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" The girls went silent for a minutes as they listened as hard as they could. The only thing Anna heard was her own breathing, and she shook her head. "Quit stalling! What about Mama's stories?"

"No, I definitely heard something." Elsa walked through the library cautiously, glancing down each row.

Elsa wasn't the type to joke around. If she thought she heard something, then something was probably there. Anna doubled back and went around the other side of the room. If they split up, they'd catch whoever it was. It was like playing hide and seek.

"Anna, what are you doing?"

"Shh!" she giggled.

"Anna!"

_Thunk._

Anna snapped her head to the noise and dashed down the aisle. She spun around the corner and pointed a finger triumphantly.

"Gotcha!"

There was nothing except a book lying on the ground. Anna blinked in surprise before going over to pick it up. It was old and heavy, definitely big enough to make the _thunking_ noise she heard if dropped.

Elsa appeared a second later, a perplexed frown on her face.

"Maybe it's a ghost?" Anna guessed.

"Which book is that?" Elsa asked.

"I dunno." She opened it to a random page in the middle, taking a moment to decipher the runes. "Something about a boat, I think."

"Here, give it to me."

"No, I had it first."

"Let me see."

"Why?"

"Anna!"

In the moment it took Anna to comprehend Elsa's startled cry was not made in sisterly irritation she had been shoved aside. A burst of cold shot from Elsa's hands as Anna tripped and knocked her head against a bookcase. Someone shouted something, but Anna was too confused to understand.

"Anna?" her sister whispered fearfully. But Elsa was not looking at her. Anna followed her gaze. A thin line of frost showed the trail of Elsa's magic. At the end of the aisle someone squirmed, trapped in an icy prison that jutted out of the ground. It wasn't Mama or Papa or Gerda or Kai or anyone else who frequented the castle. More surprisingly, it was someone Anna recognized.

"Hey, you're that girl!" Anna exclaimed, rubbing her head. "You ran away in the forest."

Elsa's eyes widened and the air crackled with a cold power that made Anna's teeth ache. "What?! S-she's real?!"

"Of course she's real." Anna stood with a groan, facing the unknown girl for the first time. "Wait. Why _are_ you here?"

The girl looked nearly as panicked as Elsa. She was trapped from the waist down in ice, a fact that seemed to occupy her full attention. The girl looked down at her prison, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Anna wasn't sure she had heard the question, and was about to repeat it when she remembered the girl couldn't talk anyway. Still, it had to be scary to suddenly find yourself trapped by ice magic. With a sympathetic sigh, Anna went over to comfort her.

"Anna, stop," Elsa said. "She could be dangerous."

"What, her? She's not dangerous."

"Go get Papa and Mama," Elsa commanded with an edge in her voice that Anna knew better than to test.

"Okay." She flashed the girl a smile. "I'll go get my parents while Elsa unfreezes you. They've been wanting to meet you, too! But next time come during the day. Then we'll have more time to play."

The look the girl gave Anna had confusion, fear, anddread all mixed together into one miserable expression. It was the same look Elsa had given her when she had first opened the door to her room, and Anna didn't like it one bit. She ran over and gave the girl a quick hug.

"Don't be scared. Everything will be okay."

Then she raced out of the library towards her parent's room, eager to share the good news.

* * *

**AN:** I had to think about how I wanted to address language for this chapter. In Frozen, Agdar and Idun's graves were inscribed with runes, but in my (limited) research, by the time the movie takes place Futhark runes had largely been replaced and were used mostly for ceremonial occasions. If I'm mistaken and someone wants to correct me, shot me a PM or mention it in a review.

It seems like there's one common language in the One Piece world, although others are used (I find it funny how Robin uses three languages while activating her Devil Fruit and none of them are Japanese). I think she would be able to understand the common language of whatever universe she was dumped in, but see no reason why she would know runes.

Thanks again for reading :)


	7. Out of the Frying Pan

If there was any doubt that Robin was no longer in her own world, it was banished the moment the blonde princess trapped her in ice. Only one of each Devil Fruit was allowed to exist at a time, and Robin knew with terrible certainty that the Ice-Ice Fruit was already accounted for.

Where was she, then? Parallel dimension? Alternate universe? An intricate hallucination?

Whatever the case, she needed to escape. Robin concentrated her power on the older princess, hoping that by incapacitating her, she would be freed.

"_Cinco fleur_," Robin hissed under her breath.

Nothing happened.

It took every ounce of willpower not to cry when she realized the ice she was encased in was sapping away her power. In a strange way Robin was surrounded by water - the bane of Devil Fruit users everywhere - up to the waist. Anything that went above her knees was enough to cripple her.

She had read once that foxes would chew off their own legs to escape a trap. Now she understood the desperation that led them to taking such extreme measures to free themselves.

Robin clenched her hands, staring at her icy prison. She had been able to ignore the cold until now, desperation driving off the worst of the discomfort. Now she could not stop a shiver that convulsed through her body. If not for the ice supporting her legs, she probably would have collapsed. As it was, it was hard for Robin to lift her head and look at the girl responsible for her dilemma.

The princess looked as terrified as Robin felt. She held both hands tucked underneath her arms, her body turned away from Robin in a defensive posture. Every few seconds she would shoot Robin a fugitive glance, but for the most part stared stalwartly at the ground.

In her own world, Robin knew that Devil Fruit users who manipulated the physical world could not undo what they did with their power. Kuzan, for example, could not unmake the ice he generated. But the other princess, Anna, had asked her sister to free Robin, so maybe things were different here. Robin swallowed. She didn't like it, but she would have to beg. Once the king was here she was as good as dead.

"L-let me out. P-p-please."

The princess jumped. "You can talk?"

"P-please," Robin said, teeth chattering.

"I…I'm sorry. I can't." She wrung her hands nervously.

"B-but…"

"I can't!" she snapped. Frost spread from her feet in angry swirls. Robin flinched, instinctively crossing her arms in front of her, ready to call upon the Devil Fruit she couldn't reach. The princess's face fell. "I'm sorry. I can't."

Then she was dead, unless she could think of some other plan, and quickly. Robin steeled herself, mind whirling. She noted the frost advanced a few more inches before the princess could stop it. She must not have had her Devil Fruit very long, to have such poor control.

"Pap…I mean, the king will be here soon," the princess said with false bravado. "Y-you'll have to explain yourself then."

For a split second Robin narrowed her eyes at the girl, before she schooled her expression. The princess did not miss the silent challenge, and jutted her chin out in response.

"What's your name?" she asked.

Robin opened her mouth, before shaking her head. "Free me f-first."

"I told you I can't!"

The two girls glared at each other, but it didn't take long for Robin to start shaking violently. The princess at least had the decency to look guilty, and she turned her attention to the book Anna had found in the middle of the floor. She picked it up and turned to the front page. Then she frowned at Robin.

"Erik the Red? Is this what you were after, Viking stories?"

_Viking_…? She had gotten herself into this trouble over a storybook?

"No," Robin said in a sad, quiet voice. She regretted the weakness in her tone as soon as the word passed her lips. "Are you s-s-sure you can't g-get me out?"

The princess shook her head. "I'm sorry. Papa will know what to do."

As if on cue, the doors to the library burst open, and two adults rushed into the room with Anna right on their heels. The man quickly put himself between Robin and the princess before giving Robin a hostile expression. It was the look of a father protecting his child, and Robin knew this had to be the king.

She shivered again, and this time it was not from the cold.

* * *

Father came just in time. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief as her parents entered the library. The mysterious intruder, despite being trapped, was starting to scare her. She didn't act like a normal person at all.

Anna came up beside her, and Elsa felt herself relax. Anna had that effect on people, as if she had a calming magic of her own. After taking a moment to lock her nervousness away, Elsa risked another glance at the intruder. The girl was her age, maybe a year or two younger. She did not look like she came from Arendelle; her skin was a shade too dark, her eyes the wrong shape. At first Elsa had thought she was from the East, but that didn't quite fit either. Was she of mixed blood, maybe? Or some other ethnicity that Elsa had not yet covered in her studies? Papa was here, he would know…

"Idun, take Anna back to her room and fetch the Captain of the Guard," her father said in the same voice he used when uttering royal decrees.

"Papa!" Anna exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Mother asked at the same time.

"Anna, you will not argue with me about this. Go to your room and wait for me there," Father said.

"Can I take Elsa with me?" Anna asked.

"No, I need her to fix this."

Elsa yelped in surprise as Mother pulled away a protesting Anna. She…she couldn't! It was impossible! The power of winter wasn't like a puppy she could shoo away when inconvenient.

"Papa…" Elsa whispered.

He looked down at her with a tenderness that almost hurt to see. "Any other way will take too long. The cold is already starting to settle in."

Elsa looked again. The girl's eyes had gone as wide as saucers as she watched the scene in front of her. But her skin was a dusky pale, her lips tinged with blue. And she was wracked with shivers that would not stop.

_She's freezing_, Elsa realized, feeling stupid for not seeing it sooner. And of course there was nothing in the library to help. Elsa, who if anything was more sensitive to warm temperatures, was wearing nothing more than her pajama slip, and had nothing to offer.

"But, Papa, I don't know how."

Her father kneeled down and his hands on her shoulders, ignoring it when Elsa cringed at the touch. "Do you remember your fifth birthday?" he asked, as if they were the only two people in the room.

"Yes. You got me a new hat."

"And you created a blizzard in the Great Hall so you could test it out," her father said. Elsa tried to remember, but this particularly memory slipped away. She had used her power so often when she was young, she couldn't keep them all straight.

"I got so angry." Father shook his head ruefully. "There was to be a dance the next day. But you said…you said…"

"_Don't worry, I'll fix it_," Elsa said for him, startling herself with her answer. She could see it clearly now, the amazement on her father's face as she returned the hall to its natural state.

"And fix it you did. All magic can be undone, Elsa," Father said quietly. "And I need you to undo this now."

"Can Anna stay?" Elsa said, a quiver of uncertainty in her voice.

Her father looked at the intruder, then back at Elsa. "If you think it will help," he said, frowning.

"It will," Elsa said emphatically.

"Very well. Anna!" he called, knowing she would not go easily and would still be within shouting distance. "Anna, come here!"

Elsa heard Anna's footfalls as her sister ran back to where they stood. Mother was a little slower, and had a perplexed look on her face.

"Agdar, what's going on?"

"Anna is going to help her sister. Go fetch the Captain. Kai and Gerda as well," he added as an afterthought. "This shouldn't take long."

It looked like Mother wanted to argue, but upon seeing Father's expression decided not to. With a sharp nod, she once again hurried out of the library, leaving her husband and daughters alone with the intruder.

"What am I supposed to do?" Elsa asked timidly.

"I don't know. What you do with your magic is beyond me." Father ran his fingers through his hair. "I always thought if we left you alone, you would be able to work out your power for yourself."

"I know!" Anna exclaimed. "Just ask it very nicely to go away."

"That's not going to work. It's not alive!" Elsa said crossly.

"But maybe…maybe Anna's on to something," Father said. "It's not alive, but you give it shape. Your magic is malleable. Instead of asking, perhaps…"

"You need to tell it what to do!" Anna interrupted.

"This is ridiculous. I can't talk to my magic. It doesn't do what I want, or obey my commands, or anything like that at all!" A cold wind tore through the library as Elsa's frustration mounted.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Father said, but she could hear the tinge of fear in his voice. He didn't believe she could do this. The wind howled in response to Elsa's emotions.

She felt a soft tug on her sleeve. Anna was huddled by her side, protecting her face from the cutting gale. _This _was why Elsa locked herself away, so she wouldn't hurt her sister ever again. It had been foolish to think that a hug would magically change things for the better. Magic didn't work that way except in stories.

"You've gotta help her. She's my friend."

_Friend?_ Anna didn't know the meaning of the word. Friends weren't strangers you chased around the forest. Friends didn't sneak into people's houses in the dead of night to read about Vikings. Friends didn't pretend they couldn't talk when they really could.

This girl was not Anna's friend. And if they ever got out of this mess, Elsa swore that she would make sure Anna knew it.

"Elsa, please."

Unlike Father, there was no doubt in her voice. Anna honestly believed she could make solid ice go away.

Her sister believed in her when no one else would. Elsa knew she had to try.

She licked her lips and raised her hands at the girl. They trembled, but Elsa was determined. Father backed behind her, one arm wrapped protectively around Anna. The girl braced herself.

Magic could be shaped. Elsa did that every time she used her power. What her father—what Anna—wanted her to do was more like unbaking a loaf of bread after it had come out of the oven. There was no way to take back the energy she released.

So maybe the answer wasn't to take the energy back, but to direct it elsewhere. Elsa gulped around a lump in her throat as she worked it out in her mind. The power that held the ice together was _hers_, there was no reason why she couldn't direct it wherever she wished.

_This is stupid. You're only going to make things worse._

Elsa faltered, arms dipping a little as the nagging doubts that were always too close at hand raised their ugly voices. If she failed here then she would probably kill the girl. There was too much risk. Surely there was another way…

"You can do it, Elsa," Anna said.

No. There was no other way.

The magic was hers. She was not going to let it control her any longer. Elsa raised her hands again, concentrating solely on the task in front of her. Father and Anna seemed to fade away, even the intruder did not register in Elsa's senses. It was just her and her ice.

"Go away," she whispered. She could feel it now, what she needed to do. The ice did not want to obey. It had settled nicely and felt no reason to move. Ice was not _supposed _to move.

"I am Princess Elsa of Arendelle, and I command you to go away!"

Elsa flicked her wrist, throwing out a rope of pure magic. The ice resisted, buckled against her will, but in the end it gave way. Elsa gathered it up in her hands, the power of pure winter squirming in like a trapped mouse. She couldn't hold on for very long, so she released it towards the ceiling. A bolt of white-blue traced the line of her magic, and it gathered together in the form of a giant silver snowflake before bursting into a thousand pieces that drifted slowly to the ground.

It worked. The ice that trapped the girl was now nothing more than a flurry of snowflakes.

"I…I did it." Elsa looked from her hands to her father in wonder. "I made it do what I want."

But Father was already rushing towards the girl, who had slumped to the ground. He took of his coat and wrapped it around her. "We're not out of danger yet. Run and get some heavy blankets."

Anna nodded, pulling Elsa out of the library. As they ran to do as they were told, she looked up and gave her sister a beaming grin.

"That was amazing!"

Elsa couldn't help but smile back.


	8. And Into the Fire

**AN: **I took some liberties in fleshing out the mythology for Arendelle. For a land where magic exists, there doesn't seem to be a lot of understanding surrounding it, so I felt the need to come up with a reason why

* * *

For whatever reason, instead of imprisoning her immediately the king wrapped Robin in blankets and set her in front of a roaring fire. In Robin's world benevolent authority figures were rarer than Devil Fruit users, belonging in the same category as dragons and other mythological creatures.

It was stupid of him to be so nice, but Robin wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If she could play up her part of the scared, innocent child then perhaps the king's kindness would continue.

Robin blinked tiredly as she stared into the fire. Her plan wouldn't even require much acting.

"Drink this," a woman commanded. A mug of hot tea was thrust into Robin's hands, and she took a small sip. It was strong and good, and burned all the way down to her stomach.

"Thank you," Robin murmured to the woman. It was the same one her eyes had seen cleaning the ball room, one of the higher ranked servants. The king was off with the Captain of the Guard, while the queen escorted the princesses to their beds.

Robin's Devil Fruit confirmed that a pair of soldiers stood guard just outside the door. If things got desperate she could probably make her escape, but it would be risky. Robin's legs were stiff and cold, and her shoulder still ached. She was _exhausted_. All of her energy had been siphoned away by the older princess' ice.

"And put these on."

"What?" Robin turned her head and saw the servant held out pajamas. The gesture was a generous one, but the servant wore a suspicious expression.

It was hard to blame her. It wasn't often random children were found snooping around the castle in the middle of the night.

"You can't sleep with what you've got on now. Those clothes are filthy," the woman said.

"Yes, ma'am." Robin took another deep drink, savoring the taste of the tea and ignoring the insult. She only stole what she needed to survive. Besides, street children weren't supposed to look well put together or clean. "Where would you like me to change?"

"Right here would suffice. I've been charged with keeping an eye on you. There will be no more funny business tonight," the servant answered, voice like flint. "I don't think you understand the trouble you've caused by your little stunt. You could have been killed."

"_Here_?" Robin said. "B-but…"

"No buts," she clipped. "I won't risk you running off. Tomorrow we shall find your parents, little lady, and you will learn the gravity of your actions."

Robin paled. It seemed like she would have to make her escape tonight after all. But not now, not while she was being watched so closely. She took the garment and stood.

She turned her back to the servant and slowly unbuttoned her blouse. Then Robin paused and shook her head.

"I can't."

"Don't be ridiculous, child."

"No. I…I _can't_. My shoulder hurts. I fell on it earlier."

"Let me see," the woman said. She came over and helped pull the shirt past Robin's shoulder. Large hands were gentile as they examined the sore flesh. She touched a particularly tender area, and Robin let out a hiss of pain. "You've got some swelling. Fell on it, you say?"

"Yes, ma'am," Robin said quietly.

"Hmm." She helped Robin out of her shirt. "You can call me Gerda. Everybody does…Dear God, what happened to you?"

Robin glanced down at her ribs. The bruises from the marines attack had melded together into a single contusion, and in the time since arriving in Arendelle had faded to a garish yellow-brown with a tinge of green around the edges. It was a hideous sight, but it didn't hurt nearly as bad is it had a week ago. She was sure there was an area between her shoulder blades that looked the same.

"It's nothing," Robin said, trying to put on the pajamas as quickly as she could, Gerda helping pull the garment over her head.

"Were these caused by a fall as well?" the woman said, eyes flashing with anger.

It was impossible to miss angry tone in the servant's voice. Robin cringed, even though it was obvious that the change in attitude wasn't directed towards her. _Scared and innocent. _That was the character she had to play. It wasn't her fault if the palace staff jumped to the wrong conclusions just because of a couple of bruises.

Robin felt a twinge of guilt, but the lies were necessary to her survival. They wouldn't believe the truth anyway.

"Please, it's nothing," Robin whispered.

Gerda's lips pursed together. "I'm going to find the king. There are people right outside the door, so don't you dare think of going anywhere. You've done enough running for one night, little lady."

Wrapping back up in the blanket, Robin nodded. "Yes, ma'am. And…" She hesitated as Gerda's eyes softened. She wasn't used to people looking at her that way.

"Yes, dear?"

"Robin," she managed to say miserably. "My name is Robin."

* * *

"Mama, I can't go to bed now!" Anna said as she bounced at the edge of her bed, eyes glittering with excitement.

"Yes, you can," Mama said sternly. "You're exhausted."

"Am not."

"Are so, you just don't realize it yet. Now settle down." Mama pulled back the blankets and gave Anna a significant look. Elsa continued to pace anxiously back and forth, waiting for Mama to take her back to her room.

With a sigh, Anna wiggled under the covers. "Does Elsa have to go to sleep too?"

"Actually, your sister will be staying the night in here. Would you like that?"

Elsa stopped, giving their mother a perplexed look. "What's going on? Who is that girl, and why is everyone acting weird?"

"I told you already, she's my friend," Anna said.

"_Anna_," Mama said as she rubbed her forehead. It was in the same tired tone she used when she wanted Anna to stop talking. "Your father just needs to make sure that there is nobody else in the castle. It will be easier to watch over you if you're both in the same room."

"Somebody's going to watch us sleep?" Anna asked with a frown.

"Not in here, of course, but yes. You will be guarded more closely tonight."

"So you don't know who she is, or where she came from, or how she got here," Elsa said. Worry seeped into every crevice of her face. Anna thought if her sister didn't stop looking worried all the time then she would get wrinkles before she was twenty. Then she really _would _look like a grandma.

"You'll be safe in here," Mama said patiently. "Now come to bed. I'll tell you a bedtime story."

Elsa did as she was told, and Anna snuggled up to her sister even as goose bumps raised on her arms.

"Magic," Anna said. "Tell us a story about magic…and trolls!" she exclaimed, remembering her sister's cryptic question from earlier in the evening. "I wanna know about trolls!"

A small frown filtered across Mama's face. "Trolls?"

"I had a dream about trolls once. They kissed my head."

The frown deepened. "When was this?"

"Um…" Anna wracked her brain. "I don't know. A long time ago, I think."

"Ah. Well, I have a few stories about trolls, if that's what you want."

"It is."

"Very well. Trolls actually have lived in the land longer than humans. They're one of the fair folk, like fairies, elves, and gnomes. There was more magic in those days…" Mama's voice trailed off, and for a moment there was silence. Even Elsa had gone completely still. Of all the bedtime stories Anna had heard, this one was new. "And there was war. The fair folk aren't human; they can't lie, and are inherently magical. They don't see right and wrong like we do, spending their long lives trying to amuse themselves. Only their games—while not usually malicious—were often fatal to the humans who came from across the sea. No one knows how the first battle started, but soon the lines were drawn."

"What does this have to do with trolls?" Anna asked.

"This has everything to do with trolls," Mama said. "Because after many years the trolls were the ones who ended the fighting. They looked into the future and saw that this was a war no one could win. They made the first overtures of peace."

"They looked into the future? With magic?" Elsa said quietly.

"Well, in a way. Fairy magic isn't quite the same as a human's. But by the time they intervened there was a great deal of mistrust between the factions. The fair folk distrusted humans because they lied, while humans were fearful of the strange magic they didn't understand. There were even some who wanted _all _magic scourged from the lands." Elsa took a sharp breath, and Mama smiled at her. "Thankfully cooler heads prevailed, and a treaty was made. But a great deal of damage had been done. There are much fewer mages today then there were back then.

"But that's the thing about magic: It's unpredictable and springs up in the most curious of places. The oil of an immortal flower can help a mother through a difficult pregnancy, and once every thousand years an oddity in planetary alignment results in the birth of a girl borne with the power over ice, wind, and snow."

"That's Elsa," Anna said, stifling a yawn. Despite her earlier insistence, her eyes were starting to grow heavy.

"Indeed. And in a way, we have the trolls to thank for it." Mama brushed some hair behind Anna's ear. Her fingers touched a sore spot, and Anna yelped.

"What's wrong?"

"That's where I bonked my head."

"When did you hit your head?" Mama exclaimed.

"When Elsa saw my friend. She pushed me before hitting her with ice, and I fell on a bookshelf." Anna grimaced at her clumsiness. "It was an accident."

"I hurt you?" Elsa said. Her fingers curled around Anna's arm.

"You never hurt me! I tripped all by myself," Anna said. She closed her eyes and touched the area on her head where a bump was starting to raise. It was the same spot as her white streak; she could tell because the hair was a different texture than the rest.

In a dream, she had been kissed there by a troll. Based on Mama's story, trolls were interesting, but they didn't go around kissing little kids…

…But they did do magic.

Anna's eyes snapped open. "You hit my head!"

"Anna, you're not making sense," Mama said.

"Not tonight. When we were little. _Littler_." Anna paused. It was like a fog had been lifted. Fuzzy memories became clear, and she remembered for the first time in years what happened that night in the ballroom. The full implication of it escaped her at the moment, she could hardly believe it herself, even as she spoke.

"Elsa hit my head with magic."

* * *

"Your Highness, a word." King Agdar turned his head to see Gerda scuttling down the hallway.

"Is something the matter?" he asked. He had specifically asked her to stay with their little intruder. Anything that made Gerda leave her post had to be important.

"Sort of. I think I know what happened," she replied breathlessly.

Agdar listened as Gerda told him what she had seen and heard. The girl recovered remarkably quickly after being released from the ice, although the king suspected she was still in shock as she kept a blank expression while wordlessly obeying the commands given to her.

No one could tell the king how she had gotten into the castle, and so far the search to find any other intruders proved fruitless. The girl wore local clothing, but did not look like she came Arendelle. Then, of course, there was the fact Anna had seen her in the forest…

At first Agdar wondered she was some sort of fairy, but that was impossible. Cold iron had been inlayed at the gates and each of the windows during the Magic Wars. That—and other precautions—made sure nothing of that nature could come inside uninvited. The child was human.

Then he had entertained the idea that she was a spy, but that didn't make sense either. Agdar couldn't think of any country who would send a child to break into his library. He wasn't so naïve to believe that there weren't those who would stoop to using child soldiers, but there was no advantage using a child over an adult in this situation.

And, of course, Anna had seen the girl in the forest. That, more than anything, confused the king. It was the one piece he couldn't fit into any of his theories.

"I was helping Robin into proper bedclothes," Gerda began.

"Who?"

"Robin, the girl. And, Your Highness, I think she's a runaway." Gerda preceded to tell him about the bruises and injured shoulder ("Someone probably wrenched her arm, poor girl," she said with a sniff) and her sudden defensiveness to questioning.

"But…why was she in the library?" Agdar said. "And how did she get there in the first place?"

"I don't know, Your Highness. But I do know this: Someone hurt her. Those aren't the sort of bruises a child gets playing out in the streets. It looked as if she had been kicked by a horse."

Agdar frowned. "Perhaps she _was_ kicked by a horse. It's too soon to be rushing to conclusions. The Captain is certain there has been no further security breaches, but I'll have him keep looking just in case. That leaves the question of where the girl…"

"Robin," Gerda corrected reflexively.

"Where Robin came from. I know it's a lot to ask, but…"

"You want me to go to town tomorrow and see what I can find out. Never fear, Your Highness, even if you hadn't asked me to, I had planned on it anyway."

"Thank you," Agdar said with a smile. "I appreciate your efforts."

"Don't you worry yourself over it," Gerda said, giving him a loving pat on the cheek. "We'll solve this mystery. Although if I find the scoundrel that hit that girl I'll flay him myself."

"You'll flay nobody, Gerda," Agdar said, trying his utmost to sound serious and kingly. Gerda had been around since _he _was a boy, and sometimes he wondered if she still saw him as a gangly child playing with a wooden sword. "And I know I don't need to say this, but we must keep the utmost discretion. We can't have word getting out that someone broke into the castle."

"I understand, Your Highness."

"Good. Now, where did you leave that girl? I intend to have a word with her myself."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow, Your Highness?" Gerda asked. "The poor creature looks worn to a shadow."

"All the more reason to speak with her tonight," Agdar said firmly. When he saw her protective look he managed a small smile. "I'll be gentle. But we don't know what's going on here, and I can't take risks. Not when the security of my family and my kingdom is at stake."

Gerda bowed her head. "As you say, Your Highness."

"Go to bed. Our little burglar isn't the only one worn to a shadow. You've done a good job tonight, but I have a feeling that our work has just begun."

* * *

**AN: **So according to an interview (Found at /2014/scriptnotes-ep-128-frozen-with-jennifer-lee-transcript) Elsa's power may or may not have something to do with the position of Saturn. Whether it's officially canon or not, the explanation is good enough for me, so I used it for this fic.

Merry almost Christmas.


	9. Buying Time

"Elsa hit my head. With magic."

The words tore through Elsa's very being and she recoiled, very nearly falling out of bed in the process. This couldn't be happening. Not now. Anna _remembered_, and whatever progress they had made was sure to disappear.

Elsa's stomach twisted into knots, and it felt like she was going to throw up. Her power warred against her newfound control. Two weeks ago the room would have been utterly destroyed. As it was, the temperature plummeted, and Elsa had to keep her hands hidden under her arms to keep from accidently freezing something.

Mother was talking to Anna, her voice low and calm, but Elsa didn't hear. She was having too much trouble trying to catch the breath that felt like had been snatched out of her chest.

"It wasn't on purpose." Anna didn't phrase it as a question, but the confusion in her voice was clear. "We were playing a game, and Elsa…" There was a pause. "Wait, my hair is white because of magic! Elsa, why didn't you tell me?"

"Y-you weren't supposed to remember," Elsa whispered helplessly. She looked up at her mother. "Why does she remember?"

But Elsa already knew the answer to that question. Father had given the reason not two hours ago. All magic could be undone. And Anna had chosen the worst possible moment to undo the spell the trolls set that night.

"The story must have triggered the memory," Mother said thoughtfully. "What do you remember, Anna?"

Anna paused. "We were little, and it was nighttime. The sky was dancing, so I couldn't sleep."

"The northern lights," Elsa agreed, heart sinking with every word.

"We were playing…" Anna's face scrunched in concentration. "…I jumped, and it was cold. Then I dreamt that I was kissed by a troll."

"You went too fast," Elsa moaned. "I couldn't catch you. I'm sorry I missed. I didn't mean to hurt you, I promise."

"I know," Anna said simply. She rolled over to face her sister. "But, Elsa, why didn't you tell me?"

Elsa opened her mouth to answer, only to realize she didn't have one, at least not one Anna would accept. She looked to her mother for help, but the question caught her off guard as well.

"I didn't want to hurt you again," Elsa said, dropping her gaze to the ground.

"So you lied?"

"Now, Anna," Mother said sharply. "Your father and I thought until Elsa had better control over her power."

"So you all lied! Everyone knew about Elsa's magic except me. That's not fair!" Anna's hands balled up in the sheets, and she started blinking very rapidly, like she was trying not to cry. "Nobody ever tells me anything! I know I'm just…just an extra, but I'm not dumb!"

"Extra?" Mother asked. "Anna, what are you talking about?"

"Everyone says it. Just because I'm little doesn't mean I can't hear. Elsa's gonna be queen, and I'm just…I'm just the spare." Anna looked up, anger burning in her expression. "But I'm not dumb," she repeated stubbornly.

A spare? Whoever had been saying such hurtful things hadn't done so within Elsa's hearing. Then again, spending the majority of the time in one's room wasn't very conducive to keeping up on castle gossip. She has been so wrapped up in her own problems she hadn't been there to protect Anna. She had failed. Again.

Empathy for Anna weighed heavily on Elsa's already burdened nerves. She could feel her power slithering away from her control, and knew she was a hair-breath away from breaking down entirely.

"I…I need to go," Elsa said, putting a hand to her chest as her breath came out heavy and ragged. "I'm sorry, Anna. I…can't…I'm sorry."

Mother approached carefully. "Elsa, you need to…"

"I need to go to my room," Elsa said, scrambling away from her sister. "It's…it's getting away."

Anna reached over and grabbed her arm. Elsa jerked away, and a burst of cold shot from her hand, hitting one of the bedposts. It crusted over immediately with ice. Horrified, Elsa rolled out of the bed. She landed awkwardly, and a thin sheet of ice started spreading under her body.

"No, stop it," Elsa whispered to herself. "Don't feel, don't feel, _don't feel_..."

A warm hand reached under her armpit and helped her stand. Elsa barely registered that her mother had voluntarily touched her before she tore away from the grasp and ran. The two guards at the door shouted their surprise as she dashed down the corridor.

"Elsa, wait!" Mother's voice carried down the empty halls. Elsa did not listen. She did not even slow down until she reached her bedroom door. But her hand were shaking too much and she fumbled with the handle, giving her mother enough time to catch up. Elsa flinched as strong hands grasped her shoulders and turned her around.

It had been a very long time since she had allowed her mother to touch her, and as the queen knelt down Elsa remembered what it was like to melt into that embrace. Things had been different then. Better. Back then, Mother had never looked down at her with such naked fear.

"Elsa, listen. I know that tonight has been difficult, but you are safe."

"But Anna…"

"I will talk to your sister," Mother said firmly. "She just needs time. But at this moment, I need to know what you need. How can I help you?"

Snow started to fall. "You…you need to go. Now."

"Talk to me, Elsa. What can I do?"

"Go," Elsa pleaded desperately. "I need to know that you'll be safe. From me."

Mother's face crumpled. "I…of course." She tucked a hair behind Elsa's ear tentatively. "I love you, Elsa. We all do, and nothing will ever change that."

Elsa reached behind her and found the doorknob. She turned the handle and stumbled into her room. In the past this place had been a haven, a safe place to hide away in peaceful solitude. Tonight as her emotions warred against themselves it became her prison.

* * *

The king found Robin nearly asleep in a large chair by the fire. The girl's thin frame was nearly hidden an enormous blanket, and the hard lines in her face had relaxed. She looked for all the world like a child who had come inside after a long day at play. Agdar knew this was not the case, and felt his heart soften.

"I brought more to drink," Agdar said. The girl blinked a few times before her eyes snapped open and she tried to get to her feet.

"No need for that. I'll come down to your level." Agdar handed her a cup of tea and pulled over another chair. "There now. Are you comfortable? Gerda says you may have more to worry about than frost bite. Do I need to call for the physician?"

"No! I-I mean, no, it's nothing."

As Agdar suspected, the defensive walls sprung back up in an instant. "Very well. In that case, I've got a few questions for you, and then it's bedtime for the both of us." The tiniest bit of indecision flickered through her eyes. The king knew if he wasn't careful, she would clam up entirely.

"Please drink. I don't want it to get cold." The girl brought the cup to her lips, but Agdar didn't see her swallow. "Gerda says you're called Robin?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"And where are you from, Robin?"

Her eyes flickered to the door before steadying back on his face. "I used to live in a village across the mountains."

"Used to?" Agdar asked.

"I…I ran away."

"And your parents?"

"Dead."

She was staring into her teacup now, but her voice was steady and her hands didn't shake. "How old are you, Robin?"

"Eleven."

Agdar leaned back in his chair. He had thought her older. She was tall—taller than Elsa, even—and there was no innocence in her eyes.

Well, his mother had always said some people were born with old souls. Maybe this girl was one of them.

"Do you know why I'm talking with you this evening?"

"I'm not supposed to be here," the girl said.

"That's right. It's a very serious offence to enter a king's castle uninvited," Agdar replied, noting the white-knuckled grip on her cup. "Which is why I must ask, why are you here?"

"It was an accident," the girl blurted, looking up at him with wide, frightened eyes. "Please, I didn't mean to. Don't make me go back!"

"Back where?" Agdar asked.

"Th-the village. Please, I can't go back. Not to him."

Never before had the king seen a more miserable expression on one so young. "Robin, I need you to explain exactly how you arrived here tonight. I'm not angry, and if there's been an accident it can be corrected. But I cannot help you if I do not know what is wrong. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said quietly, once again staring into her tea. She hesitated, drawing in on herself as if she could disappear if she became small enough. "After my mother died I didn't have any place to go. I would have ended up on the streets, but there was a man who offered to take me in in exchange for work. I tried to do what he said, but…" One hand made an unconscious movement to her side, where Gerda said she had been hurt. "He wasn't kind. So I ran away."

"And how did you get from the mountains to the city?" Agdar asked gently.

"A caravan came through. I said I had family in the next village over, so they took me. I stayed there until I found someone to take me a little farther, and eventually I got here. I couldn't stay with anyone too long in case they got suspicious."

"Hmm." Agdar rubbed his chin in thought. "My daughter says she saw you in the forest. She was under the impression that you couldn't speak."

"She didn't give me much of a chance," Robin mumbled. Her eyes went wide as she realized the implication of what she said. "No disrespect, Your Majesty. The princess was very kind. She just scared me."

Agdar laughed. "None taken. Anna can be very…enthusiastic when it comes to meeting new people. But what were you doing in the forest alone?"

"I thought the cabin was abandoned. No one would find me and ask questions."

"I see. And why were you in my library this evening?"

"It was an accident," she repeated, voice barely audible. "No one would take me farther west, so I found a trader who had business out of the city and snuck on their cart. I…I must have fallen asleep, because all of a sudden I was in the castle walls. They were going to unload soon and I needed somewhere to hide. The only place to go was through a door that led to the kitchens, and once I got in, I couldn't get out without being seen."

"So you've been in here all day and no one has noticed?" Agdar asked, eyebrows raising.

"There weren't many people, and I'm good at hiding."

"Why west? Where were you trying to go?"

"I don't know. Away, I guess. As far away as I could get." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm sorry. Please don't make me go back."

The king rubbed his temples. The tale was so fantastically over the top, but he had no way of disproving it this evening. The details needed to be sorted out and verified later, but for now his curiosity was appeased.

"I won't. It is illegal for a master to harm their servants, and you're too young for indentured servitude anyway. The way you were treated was cruel and wrong. As king, it is my duty to protect each of my subjects, no matter how small they happen to be. Whoever did this will be brought to justice, and suitable placement will be found for you." Agdar gave out a jaw-popping yawn. "But not tonight. I've had a room made up for you for the time being."

"You're not going to throw me in prison?" Robin asked in disbelief. "Or locked in chains, or executed?"

"I've yet to meet an eleven year old who has done anything worthy of execution," Agdar said wryly. "Now, off to bed. We've both been up far too long, and tomorrow will be here before you know it."

Robin stood, holding the blanket around her like a cape. She looked absolutely dumbfounded, as if she truly expected to be thrown into prison or worse.

"You are safe here," Agdar said. "There's no more reason to run away."

Robin glanced at him skeptically, but obediently followed the king out of the room and allowed one of the guards to show her to her sleeping quarters. Agdar watched until they disappeared around a corner before he allowed the tiredness he had thus far staved off to seep into every fiber of his being. Turning to the remaining guard, he sighed, "Is there anything else I need to know about tonight? A goblin invasion, perhaps?"

"No, Your Highness. The premises is secure. Although…"

"Yes?"

"Princess Elsa seemed…distraught. Instead of sleeping with Princess Anna, she has locked herself into her bedroom."

"And the queen?" Agdar asked.

"She saw Princess Elsa to her room before returning to Princess Anna. She has yet to come out."

"Very well. I will go to Elsa. Return to your post, and keep both eyes open. I want no more trouble tonight, do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" the guardsman said, snapping a salute.

Agdar nodded and made his way down the corridor. He was exhausted, but his daughter needed him. Too much had happened already; it was no wonder she was overwhelmed.

But she could control her power. He had seen that much in the library. No matter what happened, there was hope. Elsa just needed more time.

The king ran his fingers through his hair. It looked like he was in for another sleepless night.


	10. Confusion and Jealousy

Robin woke as sunlight streamed through a window and onto her face. She groaned and rolled over, pulling a blanket over her head and snuggling into a comfortable position. She remained like that for a moment. The mattress was too soft and the blankets too warm to get up just yet. Whatever the captain wanted her to do today, it could wait for a few more minutes…

Robin bolted upright. This wasn't a pirate ship, and she wasn't out on the streets. The memories from the night before trickled back slowly, and to her horror Robin realized she had been asleep for _hours_ when she should have been escaping. Her bold-faced lie to the king would not hold up under scrutiny, and every second she remained increased her chances of being found out.

Taking a deep breath, Robin sent out her eyeballs. She had been housed with the other servants, and it was late enough in the morning that they were all up and about with their work. The hallways were busier than the night before, not exactly _bustling_ with activity, but it would be more difficult to sneak away.

Throwing back the blankets, Robin looked at her legs. They were no worse the wear from yesterday's ice, and she wasn't terribly surprised. She always bounced back quickly when injured, probably because of her Devil Fruit. It was a testament to the marine's violence that she still wore the remnants of their abuse over a week later.

A change of clothes was set out on a chair. Robin crawled out of bed to inspect them closer. They weren't the ones she had worn yesterday, and Robin began to suspect that she never would get them back. The new clothes were similar in style, sturdy and plain, but they were better made, meant for the upper-working class rather than the poor who lived by the harbor. Robin changed as quickly as she could. The nightgown she wore was nice, but the embroidery was perfect and it was made of an expensive-feeling material, making her think the garment was borrowed from the older princess.

It was another puzzling thing to add to the long list of puzzling things she had experienced in the last eight hours. Robin only survived as long as she had by becoming a student of human nature, and Arendelle's royal family was subverting everything she knew about people in authority. That made them an unknown quantity, which made them dangerous. There was too much risk to pursue her original plan.

Besides, she couldn't read those stupid runes.

Robin sighed, and gave the room a quick once-over for anything useful she might steal. There was nothing worth sneaking out of the castle with, though she marveled at how big the room was. It would have been well within the king's right to throw her in his deepest, darkest dungeon. Instead he had put her in a completely furnished bedroom, complete with its own window. The ridiculousness of it boggled the mind.

She was about ready to leave when the door opened and Gerda entered the room with a tray. "Ah, you're awake already. Good. I've brought you breakfast," she said. "Hurry and eat. We've got a long day ahead of us."

"Long day?" Robin asked warily.

"I shan't be working you through all hours of the night, but I have been asked to keep an eye on you. I can't do that if you're out of my sight, can I?" She smiled wryly and set down the tray. "His Highness seems to think you'll run away if given half a chance."

Robin paled and looked down at the meal, suddenly not hungry. Knowing she was expected to eat, she took a bite of hard-boiled egg. It tasted delicious, but she had hard time swallowing against the lump in her throat.

Gerda seemed appeased. "The king has made your wellbeing his personal responsibility. I don't know what stories you've heard, but he's a good man. He'll make sure you find a proper home."

"Why?" Robin asked. "I'm just…nobody."

"Nobodies are not found fliting around the king's personal library," Gerda said, eyebrows rising. "His Highness has always been one to reward resourcefulness, and I daresay you've been plenty resourceful. More to the point, why wouldn't he? It is the king's job to protect the people."

Well, Robin had no way of arguing with that, though she had never seen such an ideal acted out in real life. She took a few more bites before pushing the tray away.

"I'm full."

"Are you sure? It's a long time 'till lunch."

"I don't want to keep you from your work." Seeing how Gerda wanted to argue, Robin added hastily, "And it's not good to eat too much at once after going hungry. I might get sick."

Gerda's expression shifted to one of doubt. "How do you know that?"

Robin took a breath to lie, the realized she didn't have to. The character she was playing would know hunger. "Experience," she said.

Gerda closed her eyes and sighed. "Very well. If you're finished, take the tray and follow me. Like I said, we've got a long day ahead of us."

* * *

Life did not stop during times of crisis. Despite the late night, Agdar rose at his usual hour. The country would not rule itself, and the needs Arendelle took precedent, even over the needs of family.

Idun understood, but that did not keep her from having a miserable day. She had her own duties as queen, but nothing was especially pressing. Instead she pondered the problems that had been raised the night before.

Elsa's magic was a concern, but that was nothing new. The queen found what _Anna_ said more worrying. Her youngest thought herself as nothing more than a spare. It explained much of her recent misbehavior, although Idun wasn't sure how she could correct this misperception.

It was unavoidable that people would talk. Elsa was the eldest, the heir. Anna's future was less sure and her talents less obvious. The role of the princess required sophistication and grace, and even though she was only eight years old, it was obvious that those were not Anna's strengths. She was awkward and a little clumsy, and often spoke out at the most inappropriate times.

It was inevitable that the girls would be compared to one another, but the situation was made more difficult because Elsa was often absent from public events. Gossip was the currency of the royal court; it was hardly surprising Anna heard the voice of her critics. After all, she was young, not stupid.

There was a soft knock at the door. Idun straightened her skirts and tried to pinch some color in her cheeks. After regaining as much composure as she could, she called out, "Enter!"

The door opened, and Idun relaxed when she saw who it was. Kai was one of the castle's must trusted and professional servants. No matter what happened, she could trust him to be discrete.

"Your Highness," he said with a small bow. "I bring a message from Gerda. She says the girl is being kept occupied and has displayed no further suspicious behavior."

"Very good. Tonight the king and I will find a more permanent solution. I know it's difficult to preform one's duties while watching over a child. Tell Gerda I'm appreciative of her effort."

"From what I've gathered, there's been no problem at all," Kai said thoughtfully. "Although…"

"Yes?" Idun prompted.

"It seems incredible, but I think the girl is educated."

"What?" the queen asked, unsure if she heard properly.

"It's only a guess," Kai admitted, "but she doesn't talk like a peasant. I only saw her for a moment, but I swear I heard her say 'discontent' properly in a sentence. And her speech is remarkably polished for a village girl."

"You think she's lying?" Idun asked.

"I know she's not telling the whole truth, Your Highness. Beyond that, I cannot say."

Idun gave a heavy sigh. "Very well. Thank you for your honesty, you are dismissed."

Kai bowed and left the queen to her thoughts. _Educated_? It wasn't impossible, although if she came from the mountains it seemed unlikely. Incredible, indeed. This whole business was incredible. At least the girl hadn't attempted to run away. It gave them the time they needed to get to the heart of this mystery.

Pushing aside her worries, Idun went to find her husband. As much as she wished it weren't so, time did not stop during a time of crisis. No matter how much she wanted to solve the problems surrounding her family, the duty to her country to precedence.

* * *

After her lessons Elsa crept around the castle, feeling like a criminal. So far she had managed to avoid Anna, and for the moment she wanted to keep it that way. Luckily her sister wasn't known for her quiet, and though there had been a few close calls Elsa had so far managed to avoid a confrontation.

At the thought of last night's disaster Elsa clenched her hands, the material of her gloves pulling taunt against her skin. She needed to stay in control today, at least until Father could have the damage to her room fixed.

To be honest, despite feeling horrible about betraying her sister's trust and being burdened with the weight of Mother's worry, the destruction to her room wasn't nearly as severe as it could have been. The worst was over by the time Father finished his business with the intruder. Elsa had been able to let him into her room when he came to check on her.

It was a sign, he said, that her control was improving, that there would be a day when the gloves would be unnecessary.

Elsa wanted to believe him. Truly she did. But as she reflected on the events of last evening, she couldn't help but think that her father was wrong.

"There you are!"

Elsa jumped as Anna's familiar voice sounded down the hallway. She turned to see where her sister was, to no avail. Confused, Elsa peered around the corner. Anna was on the far side of the corridor, not addressing Elsa at all. Instead she was talking to the intruder, who hid herself behind Gerda.

It was obvious that Anna was pleased to see the strange girl. There was a high peel of laughter, and Elsa could hear scraps of the conversation, but her sister was talking much too fast and it was difficult to put the pieces together. The other girl—if she answered at all—was too quiet to be heard such a far distance away.

After a few minutes Gerda interrupted and sent Anna on her way. As she ran down the corridor Elsa scrambled for a place to hide. Elsa managed to squeeze behind a suit of armor as her sister scampered around the corner, completely oblivious to her presence.

Elsa held her breath until Anna jumped on the banister and slid downstairs. Carefully she removed herself from her hiding place, glancing around to make sure no one saw her.

The intruder was still in the castle. Elsa had received no satisfactory answers as to who she was or why she was found in the library. She had assumed her parents would have taken care of the problem and that she would never have to see her again.

Apparently she was wrong. Not only was the intruder still here, Anna was still willing to talk to her.

Elsa didn't like that. The girl made her skin crawl, and it was obvious she was up to no good. She belonged in prison, not allowed to walk around the castle where she could be a bad influence on the very impressionable Anna.

The sound of her sister's laughter echoed through Elsa's mind. The intruder had been able to make Anna laugh. Anna thought the girl to be her friend. There had to be some sort of mistake. Squaring her shoulders, Elsa went to find her father. He would be able to set things right, and the world would return to normalcy.

At least, Elsa thought glumly, that's what she hoped would happen. Then, maybe, the rift that had opened up last night would heal, and Elsa would have her sister back.


	11. Called into Question

It was weird how life seemed to go right back to normal after such a dramatic night. Mama and Papa did their normal king and queen stuff, and Elsa was nowhere to be seen. Lessons were no different than any other day—which was to say, terrible—and afterword Anna was left to her own devices.

But things _were _different. There was another girl in the castle, someone to play with and talk to. The first time Anna saw Robin, she had been busy with Gerda. Anna got the vague impression she wasn't supposed to spend time with her friend, which struck her as quite silly. If everyone else got to do what they wanted, it stood to reason that she should be able to as well.

Besides, she was still mad at her sister and didn't feel like hunting all over the castle to find her. After Elsa left her room, Mama came back and talked to Anna for a long time about a lot of things she didn't understand. Anna had fallen asleep sometime in the middle of it, only sure of one thing: Everyone was keeping secrets from her. She didn't know why, probably because she wasn't important enough to tell, but the knowledge hurt.

Anna was left with one person she could absolutely trust, which was sad, because they hadn't even had a proper conversation yet. She planned on rectifying that today. Her plan called for guile and patience and a little bit of luck.

Step one was waiting for Gerda to leave Robin alone. The servant lived for her work and didn't like anyone distracting her. That meant she was good at her job but also kind of a party pooper. Anna wouldn't be able to get two words in before being sent off again.

This part of her brilliant plan wasn't so difficult. Anna knew most all of the servant's routines by now, having developed the habit of following them around while bored. Which was all the time. Gerda woke early in the morning and often worked late into the night, managing the castle staff with practiced efficiency. But it seemed unlikely that she would force Robin to help work during the supper hour. Anna knew from experience that the cooks did not like having children running underfoot while they prepared and served the meal. No, it was more likely Robin would be sent elsewhere during that time.

The question was _where_? Some of the staff had children, Anna knew, but Gerda had not sent her friend with them. Which was weird, because usually only adults worked in the castle. Anna didn't think Robin was old enough for an apprenticeship either, which only confused the issue.

Anna sat on one of the banisters as she thought about her quandary, but no solution came to mind. She was about ready to start a castle-wide search when she saw Robin sneak quietly into the ballroom below. Her friend took a few tentative steps forward, her back to Anna. She didn't act scared today, though she did look a bit suspicious as she glanced this way and that. Perhaps she was lost again.

Anna was about to say something when Robin whirled around and looked straight at her. Anna blinked in surprise. She hadn't made any noise at all, there was no reason for her friend to know she was there. Briefly she wondered if her friend had eyes on the back of her head, before dismissing the idea as silly, even for her.

"Hi there," Anna said, kicking her feet back and forth absentmindedly. "I finally found you. Or was it you found me? I'm not really sure."

"What…?"

"Just wait, I'll be down there in a second."

Anna went over to the stairs, and with the ease of practice she swung back on the banister and slid to the ground level. She didn't stumble too badly on her landing and managed to approach Robin with most of her dignity intact. Remembering her manners, Anna dipped into a wobbly curtsy.

"I am Princess Anna of Arendelle. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." There was an awkward pause, and Anna looked at the other girl in the eye. "Psst, now it's your turn," she mock-whispered.

Robin was stunned. Maybe because it was impolite for royalty to introduce themselves first? Anna could never remember the rules of etiquette like she was supposed to, and the rare times she did her mouth tended to move faster than her brain.

"I would really like to be friends," Anna said. "It's hard to be friends with someone without being introduced."

By now her friend looked more confused than ever, but she managed to say, "Robin. My name is Nico Robin."

"Isn't Nico a boy's name?"

Her frown deepened. "Nico's my surname." Again she paused. "I—I'm sorry. I don't know if I'm supposed to bow or curtsy or anything like that at all. I've never met royalty before."

"That's okay, it doesn't matter. Well, I guess it does matter, just not to me." Anna offered Robin her brightest smile. "And you can talk, and you aren't frozen anymore!"

Robin only nodded.

"Where were you going?" Anna asked, trying to drag some semblance of conversation out of her. "I'll walk with you."

Again she didn't answer, but her fingers fidgeted in a way that Anna was all-too-familiar with. "Oooohhh," she said knowingly. "You're trying to sneak some place without getting caught, weren't you?"

"No! Of course not!"

"It's okay," Anna said, giving her a pat on the arm. "You've never seen a real castle before, have you? Of course you want to go exploring without Gerda around."

"I…" Robin's shoulders slumped a little. "Yes, you're right. I was trying to go exploring. I'm sorry."

Anna tugged the sleeve of Robin's shirt and led her to the ballroom. "I know this place better than anyone. I'll take you wherever you want to go."

"But…"

"No buts!" Anna exclaimed. "What are friends for?"

For some reason the question made Robin cringe. "Sorry," she said softly.

"Don't be!" Anna said. "And stop apologizing so much. You have nothing to be sorry for."

* * *

"Did you find anything about our guest?"

Agdar watched sharply as Gerda hesitated. "I'm not sure, Your Highness," she said as she wrung her hands. "But Marian the fish merchant said he had seen a girl matching Robin's description. As far as he knew, she just showed up one day and disappeared just as suddenly."

"He didn't know anything about her at all?" Agdar asked.

"Wayward children aren't exactly a rarity by the docks, Your Highness," Gerda said apologetically. "He only noticed because she didn't ever try to steal anything from his stall. Most street children tend to congregate in packs, he said she always kept to herself."

"Hmm. What do you think, Idun?" Agdar said.

"I think something is missing," his wife said, choosing her words with great care. "Kai seems to think she's learned."

"Is that the impression you had, Gerda?"

"She does speak well," Gerda admitted, "But she's no stranger to hard work, either. I had to stop her from straining herself."

"The girl was familiar with castle work?" Agdar said, surprised.

"Well, yes."

Agdar and Idun shared a look. "Why would someone from a mountain village know how to do a castle servant's work?" Idun asked.

"And who would have taught her proper speech?" Agdar murmured. Shaking his head, he turned back to Gerda. "Thank you, you may return to your work. We will be down to eat shortly."

Gerda dipped into a curtsy and left them. Idun watched her leave with worried eyes. "Do you suppose Robin has gotten herself into trouble since Gerda's not keeping an eye on her?"

Agdar chuckled. "Hardly. The girl was left under the care of one of the junior servants until after supper. You know, the one who watched Anna for a while."

"The one who was supposed to be watching Anna when she slipped out to the woods?" Idun said, eyebrows raising. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"The girl won't run," Agdar said. He rubbed his chin pensively. "What do you think, truly?"

"It's so _odd_. It reminds me…it reminds me of the old stories," she said, voice trailing off quietly, as if she were embarrassed to even voice the idea.

"Which ones? Changelings, evil step-mothers, knights in shining armor…"

"I'm serious, Agdar," Idun said, crossing her arms and looking away in a way that reminded the king very much of his youngest daughter when she was irritated.

"So am I," Agdar replied. "Just because a situation is strange doesn't mean we're living some sort of _fairy tale_."

"They're not just stories," Idun snapped. "You know what happened in Corona just as well as I. There are great evils that lurk in the world, and any one of them wouldn't think twice about kidnapping a young girl if it suited their goals."

Agdar put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "I know that. But why would Robin lie, and how in the world did she end up here in the first place?"

"Whoever gave her those bruises might have had something to do with it."

Agdar recalled the girl's confusion when he made it clear he was not going to throw her in prison and nodded. To hurt a child was a monstrous thing. Suddenly he realized that he had no idea how long Robin claimed to have stayed with her abusive caretaker

"We need answers, and the way things are we aren't going to get them," Agdar said. He grimaced as an unpleasant solution presented itself. "I think we need to go back to the trolls."

Idun opened her mouth to answer, before the noise of someone running down the hall caught her attention. Agdar turned to see Elsa rushing towards them.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," his daughter panted. The anxiety on her face seemed more pronounced than usual, and though there was no ice to be seen the air was cooler than it had been a moment ago. "I've just been in the dining hall, and something's wrong."

"What is it?" Agdar asked.

"It's the servants." Elsa looked up at him, blue eyes boring into his soul. "Whoever was supposed to look after the intrude—the _guest_—lost her. She's gone, and no one can find Anna."


	12. Friend or Foe?

"Trolls?"

The princess beamed at Robin, relishing the opportunity to share a tantalizing secret. "Yep. Apparently they can see the future."

Robin looked out at the fjord, deep in thought. "Are you sure it wasn't dwarves?" she asked.

"I'm sure! I even saw some when I was little. They look kinda like rocks, and Mama says they can't lie and know magic, just like Elsa!"

"But magic doesn't exist," Robin protested, realizing the ridiculousness of the statement as soon as she said it. Some people thought Devil Fruits were a type of magic. Maybe it was the same in this world, and the people didn't know the scientific explanation behind their powers.

The princess just giggled. "Of course there's magic! Once every thousand years one of the planets—Neptune maybe?—lines up in a funny way, and a person on Earth is born with ice powers!"

Robin looked at the princess doubtfully, but didn't argue. "Are you sure we're supposed to be here?" she asked, changing the subject. The princess had led her on a whirlwind tour through the castle that ended with them leaning out one of the windows overlooking the fjords of Arendelle.

It was actually a very nice view, but more surprising was the fact that Robin was enjoying herself. The young princess was relentless in her attempts to get Robin to talk, and Robin found herself drawn to her cheerful enthusiasm.

"Why wouldn't we be?" the princess asked. Bored with looking out the window, she flopped onto a divan and began kicking her feet. She looked up at Robin with an impish smile. "Now if we tried to go outside, _then_ we'd get in trouble."

It was tempting to remind the princess that it was her dinnertime, and that she probably should be eating, but Robin couldn't quite bring herself to say anything. Nice moments like this, things that made her feel warm and safe, never lasted long. Robin wanted to treasure this memory, even though she knew that the more attached she got the more it would hurt later.

"What'cha thinking about?" the princess asked. "You're awfully quiet."

Robin's grip on the windowsill tightened till her knuckles turned white. "Trolls, I guess. I've never heard of them before."

"Me neither, not till yesterday. And I've only known about Elsa's magic for a week. Before she just hid in her room and wouldn't talk to me." The princess sighed. "Everyone's been keeping secrets."

A pit formed in Robin's stomach. Secrets were a good thing, necessary even, to make sure people didn't get hurt. The archeologists had tried their best to keep their research a secret from her, and if they had succeeded then maybe her head wouldn't be worth 79,000,000 berries.

Then again, she might also be dead. Sometimes there were no good answers.

"Where are you from, anyway?" the princess said, breaking the heavy silence. "I don't think you've said."

"The mountains."

"Oh! Have you been to the North Mountain? I heard it was the hugest mountain in the whole country!"

"Er…" One of her phantom eyes caught sight of the older princess coming their way. Relief coursed through her. She would have to do more research if she wanted to keep her story intact. "Someone's coming."

"I don't hear anything…"

The older princess burst into the room, right on cue. She had a face like thunder, but when she saw Robin she stopped short. Immediately her expression turned to one of regal distaste. Princess Anna noticed and crossed her arms, jutting her chin out defiantly.

Robin did not want to be caught in the middle of a dispute between princesses, and that counted double for the blonde with the ice powers. That ability terrified her, and Robin had to ball her hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

"What are you doing here?" the blonde asked. "Everyone's looking for you."

"I was just showing Robin around," Princess Anna said, attempting to be nonchalant and failing miserably.

"_Just showing Robin_—Anna, you can't just go running off! You know that!"

"I don't see why you care," Princess Anna said mulishly, ignoring the layer of frost spreading beneath her sister's feet.

Princess Elsa's breath hitched, and a look of deep hurt flashed through her eyes. The vulnerability was gone in an instant, stoic mask back in place. "Go downstairs and eat. Mother and Father aren't very happy. I wouldn't try their patience any more than you already have."

For a moment it looked like Princess Anna was going to argue, but she slid off the divan and gave Robin an apologetic smile. "I'll show you the rest later."

Robin watched with wide eyes as her only ally trudged out of the room. When she was gone, the older princess gave her a look that was hard and cold as the element she controlled.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but leave my sister alone," she said, the faintest waver in her voice.

It was easy enough to add the _or else_ that the princess politely left unsaid. Fear kept Robin rooted in place, though the princess was between Robin and the door so escape was unlikely anyway.

She needed to say something. She couldn't let the princess know how much her ability scared her. But the words wouldn't come. Her mouth was just as frozen as the rest of her. Maybe the princess had cast a spell on her.

Apparently satisfied with Robin's lack of response, the princess nodded sharply once and turned to leave.

"Just…go back where you belong."

Robin's heart pounded in her chest as the older princess returned to the family who loved her despite her unnatural ability. It was wasn't fair, but then again nothing in her life was. Blinking back tears, Robin leaned against the wall and buried her head in her hands.

_Go back where you belong._

Such a place didn't exist. Even if she managed to get back to the West Blue, there was nothing for her there except an impossible dream and the world who hated her for dreaming it.


	13. Dinner Talk

Elsa took the long way back to the dining hall, repeating the breathing exercises and mantras that helped keep her emotions under control. That _girl_, Robin, was sorely testing the precarious control she had over her power. It wouldn't be so bad, except…except…

_Anna liked her_. Possibly more than she liked Elsa.

For the life of her, that was something Elsa couldn't understand. Nothing about the intruder added up, and Anna was too immature to realize that. Her parents had kept an eye on her via Gerda throughout the day, but that obviously wasn't enough either.

The memory of the previous night replayed in her head. After being trapped in ice, Robin had been indignant to the point of defiance, except for when Elsa had asked about the book. At that moment she seemed to lower her defenses, but the vulnerability had not lasted. And today she was perfectly comfortable with Anna…

As far as Elsa knew, no one had figured out how she had gotten into the castle in the first place. It was impossible to wrap her mind around the ramifications of an unknown security breech. As the future queen of Arendelle, Elsa thought a great deal about the security of her country, and she knew that if the castle wasn't safe, then no place was.

She also knew that her parents were not telling her everything. When she tried to broach the subject with her father earlier in the day, he only shook his head and said, "Not now, Elsa." That reaction—more commonly given to Anna—put her even more on edge.

Elsa paused before opening the door to the dining hall. She could just barely hear her mother scold Anna for running off—again—and her heart ached for her sister. It _was_ bad that Anna went off without telling anybody, but at least this time she actually stayed inside. It wasn't that Anna had done anything malicious, it was just that, well, she didn't always think things through.

"Looks like you're in for another rough dinner."

Elsa turned and acknowledged Gerda's presence. The servant's mouth was set in an unhappy line, and her gaze was fixed on the door. But talking with her drowned out the noise on the other side, so Elsa asked, "Why doesn't she listen?"

"If we knew the answer to that question, we wouldn't be in this situation, now would we?" Gerda said. She shook her head ruefully. "She reminds me of the king when he was young."

"Really?" Elsa said, unable to imagine her wise, dignified father behaving in such a way.

"Oh, yes. He got into all kinds of mischief." Gerda winked. "Don't tell him I said anything, but more than once I caught him trying to sneak off into town to play with the common-born lads. It made him feel normal, I think."

"I don't think that's what Anna's doing."

"No, I don't think so either," Gerda said. "All we can do is love her the best we can and try to show her the right way."

With a hesitant nod, Elsa decided it was probably time to go in and sit down. As soon as she opened the doors there was immediate silence. Elsa glanced at her sister, but Anna's gaze was set firmly on her plate with her shoulders hunched together defensively. It looked as if the slightest thing would send her into tears.

For the most part, Mother just looked frustrated. This was not the first time they had had this conversation, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

Elsa swallowed, unsure of what to do. Again her gaze flickered to Anna. She couldn't remember ever seeing her indomitable sister so…defeated. The girl sitting at the dinner table looked nothing like the one who spent the last four years persistently knocking on Elsa's door.

Maybe this time it was Elsa's turn to reach out. Maybe Anna just needed her sister, just like Elsa needed all those one-sided conversations to get through the years of isolation.

Bracing herself, Elsa walked over to the table and took the seat next to Anna. This was a deviation from their normal seating plan, and Mother blinked at her in surprise as Anna stiffened.

No words were said, and after a moment Anna looked at her quizzically. Elsa offered a tentative smile. Their relationship was a hopelessly tangled mess, but this time Elsa was determined that _she _would be the one making the first overtures of peace.

* * *

After a long talk with the servant girl responsible for watching over Robin, Agdar went into the dining hall, where his family was waiting for him so they could start their much-delayed supper.

He noticed right away that Anna and Elsa were actually sitting next to one another, although they weren't talking like they used to when they were small. In fact, Anna looked rather angry and didn't stop glowering at her plate to acknowledge his presence.

It was an unusual reaction for his youngest daughter, but perhaps not a surprising one. It hadn't even been a day since she remembered that fateful night four years ago. It would take time for Anna to come to terms with what happened.

Despite the tense atmosphere, Agdar was happy to see his girls together. Maybe, despite trying circumstances, they would continue on the path they began the night Anna rediscovered Elsa's magic.

As soon as Agdar took his usual seat at the head of the table, the servants came in with trays of food. He always wondered how they managed to do that, before deciding that his staff had a magic of their own. It was the only way he could understand how they managed to do so much with so few resources.

His thoughts were interrupted as the main doors once again opened, revealing a servant leading Robin to the table. The servant girl—unhappy that Robin had escaped from her in the first place—gave Robin a small push that did not go unnoticed by the king. His brows furrowed together as the servant stomped out and shut the door with more force than necessary.

The girl was young and inexperienced, but such behavior was unacceptable. Agdar made a mental note to inform Gerda and memorized her face so he keep an eye on her in the future.

Turning his attention back to Robin, Agdar gestured for her to come over. "If I understand correctly, you haven't eaten yet tonight. Come, join us."

"Are you sure about this?" Idun murmured.

"There are things we need to discuss," Agdar replied as he took a drink from his goblet. "This is the most opportune time."

"In front of the girls?"

"It involves them as well." Turning to his children, he said in a stern tone, "It has been quite some time since we've had guests. I expect everyone to be on their best behavior."

It was amazing how quickly his daughter's traded emotions. Anna was grinning from ear to ear as she bounced in her seat while Elsa gaped in angry shock. One sharp look from Agdar was all it took for her to change her expression, and the king surpressed a sigh.

"Sit by me!" Anna said, gesturing to the seat to her left. Robin gave Agdar a questioning look, and he nodded.

When she had seated, Agdar looked at the three girls in turn. Robin squirmed under his gaze while Anna hardly noticed, and Elsa…

It was impossible to guess was Elsa was thinking. Her face was the royally indifferent mask he knew she used when she was struggling to keep her power under control. Agdar didn't know whether to be pleased that she seemed to be succeeding or upset that Robin garnered such a reaction in the first place.

"Girls," Agdar said, clearing his throat. "As you all know, there have been…_unusual _happenings going on the last several days. I've decided we would all benefit from outside council in this situation."

A tiny frown graced Elsa's features. "But who would know enough to help?"

"You've actually met them once," Agdar said.

"The trolls!" Anna exclaimed.

"Actually…yes," Agdar said. "I've already sent out the invitation. It's difficult to tell when or if they'll respond, but if all goes well, we'll have an audience with the Elder Troll before the week is out."

* * *

**AN:** Sorry for the delays in updates. I've been having problems with my computer connecting to the internet. I'll be going out of the country pretty soon, so don't be surprised if there aren't any new chapters for a while.


	14. Rising Tensions

Robin felt sick and had no idea what she was supposed to do. Magic wasn't real. Predicting futures was impossible without the aid of a Devil Fruit. But everyone seemed to assume that the trolls—which, until today, she had no idea even existed—would have all the answers the king was looking for.

Except the king wanted to know the truth about Robin, and once he did he would have her arrested, maybe even killed. She was the Demon Child, a pirate and a liar who had broken into the king's castle and abused his undeserved generosity. The king and his wife were good people; they wouldn't have anything to do with criminals.

On the other hand, maybe these magic trolls knew the way home.

Looking out the window the younger princess had shown her earlier, Robin shuddered. It was getting dark, and activity within the castle was dying down. It would be easy to escape now that she was rested.

The problem was Robin didn't know whether or not she should.

* * *

Anna knew immediately that there was something wrong with Robin. By all outside appearances her friend was simply looking at the fjords, but her eyes were distant, not really looking at anything at all. There was an incredible sadness that surrounded Robin like a cloud, and just being near her made Anna feel sad as well.

"Hello, Princess," Robin said softly, eyes transfixed outside.

"Robin, are you all right?" Anna asked.

"Why wouldn't I be? The king said he's sent a message to the trolls." Robin blinked once and turned towards her. At once the sadness was gone, leaving her normal, quiet self in its place.

Okay, that was a little freaky.

"Yeah," Anna said with a small smile. "I can't wait 'till you meet them! I bet you've never seen a talking rock before!"

"No." She paused, a tiny frown crossing her features. "But, Princess…"

"Yes?"

"Humans don't usually talk to fairies, right? Not even the king?"

"Yep, that's right," Anna said. "They're a secret. Papa only went the first time 'cause Elsa…Elsa had an accident with her power and they needed help fixing it."

"And they made you forget?" Robin asked.

"I was littler then. Mama and Papa wanted to make sure Elsa learned how to use her powers, which makes sense, I guess, even if I think it's stupid." Anna made a face at the admission. "But that was _years _ago, and Elsa's a lot better at controlling her magic."

Robin pursed her lips together. "What if they want to make me forget?"

"What!" Anna exclaimed. "No, never! Why would they want to do that?"

"Because Princess Elsa's magic is a secret, and I saw. I know about trolls, and I shouldn't. I snuck into the castle when I wasn't supposed to, and someone might force me to tell how I did it." Robin sat down and looked at her feet. "If I forget, that…that solves a lot of the king's problems."

"That's ridiculous! Papa would never…"

"The king already has," Robin interrupted. "You said so yourself."

Anna faltered, at a loss for words. What Robin said seemed completely at odds with the father she knew and loved, but it was true, wasn't it? Four years ago he _had _used the trolls to make someone forget, that someone being his own daughter.

"I can't forget," Robin said with desperate urgency. "I-I _can't._"

Anna sat down next to Robin and frowned at the suit of armor on the other side of the hallway. Maybe she should go find Elsa. Her sister knew everything there was to know about stuff like this, and would surely have an answer for Robin's questions. But Anna didn't think leaving Robin alone was the right thing to do. Something was telling her that if she left then Robin would bottle her feelings up inside, just like Elsa did when she was upset.

"You won't forget," Anna promised. "And if you do, I'll just have to help you remember again." She smiled when Robin's looked up at her in surprise. "Although I'll try not to knock your head in a bookshelf like Elsa did for me."

For a moment Robin looked confused, but then she laughed. It was small, barely audible even though Anna was right next to her, but it was a start. Anna's smile widened, and she wrapped her arm around Robin's shoulder in an impromptu hug. Her friend bristled at the contact, but to Anna's immense delight she didn't pull away.

* * *

Elsa listened to Anna's conversation with Robin. She wasn't eavesdropping, not really. It wasn't her fault she could hear what they were saying on the other side of the door. If it was supposed to be a private conversation, then they shouldn't be out in the open.

Okay, so maybe she was eavesdropping. Just a little.

It was for Anna's sake. It was quite obvious that her sister was set on befriending the intruder and that Robin was going to let her, despite Elsa's earlier warning. It was her job as Anna's older sister to make sure she didn't do anything foolish. _More _foolish, anyway.

"Maybe tomorrow I could show you the rest of the castle," Anna said. "After lessons would be a good time. Then Elsa could come with us."

Elsa froze. Her sister wanted to do _what_?

"I don't think that's a good idea." Elsa had to strain to pick up on Robin's voice. Leaning against the door, she listened as hard as she could.

"Why not?"

"Well, I, uh…I don't think she likes me very much," Robin said.

"That's not true," Anna said. "You just caught her by surprise in the library. I mean, you could have been a _kidnapper _or something. Or a spy, sneaking super-secret information out of the kingdom!"

Robin did not reply.

"Anyway, I should ask Elsa. Maybe she could tell us more about the trolls, since I was kind of unconscious for some of it." Anna let out a heavy sigh. "_Magic_. It's still hard to believe."

"I've never heard of someone being born with power like that," Robin said.

"Oh, so you actually believe it exists now?" Anna teased. "Haven't you heard any of the fairy tales?"

"None like that."

Elsa's heart began to pound as Anna giggled. Why were they talking about _her_? She was tempted to interrupt their ill-advised conversation that very instant, but she was also terribly curious. Anna never acted afraid of her power in front of her sister, but what if it was a façade? What if, deep down, Anna knew what kind of monster her sister was?

"You should see what she can do," Anna said. "Snowmen indoors, ice ponds in summer…her sherbet _never _melts unless she wants it to. It's amazing."

Amazing? No, her power was terrifying.

"I'll ask her to come with us tomorrow," Anna repeated, sounding surer this time. "You'll like her once you get to know her. It's just that sometimes it's hard to get to know Elsa."

There was a pause. "I should go," Robin said. "Gerda probably wants me to help her again tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight, Robin. I'll see you tomorrow.

Elsa scrambled away from the door, looking for an escape. She thought that she would have had more warning before they stopped talking! But there was nowhere she could go in time, and before Elsa could do anything else the door opened, and the intruder came through. Luckily Anna was not trailing behind her, but Elsa knew she had been caught.

Robin shut the door and glared at Elsa. There was a hardness in her eyes that was frightening, and Elsa wanted to shy away from it. Not a word was said, and after straightening her skirts, Elsa stood as tall as she could and glared right back.

* * *

Robin's eyes caught the older princess listening in on her and Princess Anna early in their conversation. She had been tempted to say something, but decided against it. It was really none of her business if Princess Elsa was keeping tabs on her sister, and Robin knew better than to let any incriminating information out.

But Princess Anna turned the conversation on the topic of her older sister, and it was obvious that Princess Elsa was surprised by her sister's glowing praise. How someone could be so oblivious was beyond Robin; Princess Anna's devotion to her sister was evident in every word she spoke.

It was hard not to be jealous of the way Princess Anna spoke of Princess Elsa, or envious of the way the older girl was treated by her parents. Robin could never imagine her cousin calling her Devil Fruit "amazing", or her aunt going to such lengths to protect her like the king had, or her uncle looking at her with the loving gaze the queen freely gave both her daughters. It was hard not to be angry at the older princess for hiding behind spells and magic and closed doors when she had _everything_.

So there was a feeling of immense satisfaction when she caught Princess Elsa in the act of eavesdropping. For the first time Robin was in a position of power over the ice-witch who hated her.

"Good evening, Princess," Robin said, keeping her voice low and polite.

"Good evening," the princess said confusion in her eyes.

"Princess Anna came to me," Robin said. "I tried to leave her alone, like you said."

The line between her eyebrows deepened. "I know."

"The king wants me to stay until the trolls come."

"I know," she said.

"Then you know I can't leave," Robin said, tensing as the older princess's hands balled into fists. "I would if I could, but even if I tried the king would find me again."

The princess thought about it, then nodded unhappily. The air became cool, but no ice or frost to indicate that she wanted to use her power. "I understand," she said.

Robin took a deep breath, realizing she had just made her decision to stay. There were so many risks, but the trolls might be her only hope. She couldn't run away from a chance at going back home.

And she had Princess Anna on her side. It was such a small thing, but it gave her the strength to keep trying, for a few more days at least.

"Then I'll bid you goodnight," Robin said with a small curtsy. The paralyzing fear that had crippled her but a few hours ago was gone, replaced by a cold contempt for the girl who was too blind to see how lucky she was.

Princess Elsa didn't reply, but there was no mistaking the anger in her eyes. Robin didn't care. Stronger and scarier people had hated her for as long as she could remember. Robin walked past the princess, satisfied that she was no longer a threat to her safety, when the door opened a second time.

"Robin, who are you talking to—oh! Elsa! I didn't realize you had come up." Robin froze as the younger princess bounded into the room.

"I was looking for you. It's time to get ready for bed." The older princess glanced at Robin, daring her to call out her lie.

"Okay," Princess Anna said. "Hey! I was gonna ask you, do you want to come with me and Robin after lessons tomorrow? I was going to show her the rest of the castle. I promise to tell Mama so she doesn't get mad."

The older princess hesitated, then she smiled at her sister. "Of course. I would love to."

Robin's eyes widened in shock. She was sure that the older princess would refuse. Princess Anna was also surprised that her sister agreed so readily and let out a squeal of joy before throwing her arms around the older princess. Princess Elsa pulled away, and Robin thought she saw her smirk.

What game was she playing? Whatever it was, Robin would make sure she won. She had spent the last three years surviving in a world that tried is best to kill her. A princess as nothing in comparison, even if she did have ice powers.

Robin excused herself and went back to her quarters, silently fuming. It took her a long time to get to sleep that night, tossing and turning for hours as she tried to think about how she would deal with the blonde princess who mocked her with her very existence.

* * *

**AN**: I managed to finish another chapter before I left. Here's some interpersonal conflict to hold you over for a few months :D

I feel like I just wrote the friendship version of a love triangle. I don't know if such a thing exists, but if not, it does now.

As always, thanks for reading. Please review if you feel so inclined.


	15. Long Nights and Longer Mornings

Anna was not usually a morning person, but the prospect of spending time with both Elsa _and _Robin at the same time turned her into one, at least for a day. She was so giddy with excitement that she hadn't been able to fall asleep for _hours_. It had been more than a little tempting to sneak off to Elsa's room in the middle of the night, just like she used to. But Anna managed to restrain herself. While pestering her sister through the small hours would be fun, it wasn't worth risking Elsa or Gerda or Mama's wrath, and by extension her castle-exploration privileges.

And people said she couldn't be mature.

Instead Anna tossed and turned, her imagination running wild with increasingly-improbable scenarios of the amazing adventure that awaited after the dreaded lessons. Eventually she fell to sleep, only to awaken to the sound of the servants going about their early morning duties.

Normally she would have gone right back to sleep, but not today! Anna slid out of bed and got dressed, a chore she had gotten quite good at since the downsizing of the staff four years ago. She could even braid her hair herself, if not in the elaborate fashion Mama could.

Anna looked at herself in the mirror. She was perfectly presentable and ready to make good on her promise to Elsa to ask Mama for permission to show Robin more of the castle. There was something about this that send a little quiver through Anna's stomach. She wasn't _nervous, _exactly, just a little apprehensive. What if Mama said no? Considering all the trouble Anna had been in recently, she just might. Besides, ever since Elsa's accident, Mama and Papa were inclined not to let their children do anything that even remotely resembled fun.

Anna frowned a little. Sometimes adults got the strangest ideas in their heads. She couldn't think of a single reason why she wouldn't be allowed to spend time with Elsa and Robin.

* * *

"You want to what?"

"May I _please _show Robin around the castle after lessons?" Anna begged. "Elsa said she'd come with me to make sure I don't wander off."

Idun looked down at her youngest and resisted the urge to massage her already-aching forehead. She was expected at a meeting with the merchant guild soon, and really did not have the time to deal with this now. The request seemed innocent enough, and with Elsa supervising to make sure they stayed indoors…

But could Elsa be trusted to maintain control over herself?

And there was the problem of little Robin, the educated servant girl supposedly from the mountains. Agdar had sent men out to gather information on everyone who entered the castle walls the day Robin was found hidden in the library, but not all had returned with their reports. So long as the girl's story was still suspect Idun could not in good conscience trust her either, no matter how badly she wanted to.

There were a hundred reasons to deny Anna's request, but doing so seemed needlessly cruel. She was even asking permission, a concept that seemed to be an eternal struggle. Idun suppressed a sigh.

"You may, on one condition," Idun said, holding up a finger to stop the preemptive shout of glee. "You will have a chaperone. I will talk to Gerda and ask for someone to accompany you."

Anna seemed to deflate a little at that, but it didn't take long for a bright smile to spread across her face. It was the sort of smile that Idun hadn't seen much of late, and a warm happiness filled her heart as Anna gave her mother a strong hug.

* * *

The morning hours seemed to drag on forever. Once again Robin was stuck following Gerda around when her instincts were telling her she should be running. Running was easy. It was safe. Running rarely resulted in her being frozen alive or thrown into dungeons, two fates that seemed more and more certain the longer she stayed in Arendelle.

Stupid trolls and their stupid magic, making things harder than they ought to be. And stupid princess and her stupid kindness, making Robin actually want to stay.

Robin rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe away the tiredness that was making her cranky and less like the character she was supposed to be playing. _Scared and innocent_. That was the image she had to uphold.

"Are you feeling well?" Gerda asked after a few hours. "You're looking rather pale."

"Didn't sleep well," Robin muttered.

"Ah," she said sympathetically. "Well that's understandable. All this talk of trolls has got my teeth set on edge."

"Really? Robin asked, looking up at her in surprise.

"_Fairies_," Gerda said, as if that explained everything. "This bunch doesn't cause much trouble, but you hear stories. Don't trust 'em myself."

That did nothing to ease Robin's nerves, but she nodded in agreement, pretending to know what in the world Gerda was talking about. Just what kind of stories were there, and were they true? Back home there were people who hated fishmen and giants for no good reason at all. Maybe Arendelle was the same.

It wasn't often that Robin didn't know the history of a place, and she hated her ignorance. If only she understood the runes in the king's library.

"But I trust the king, and there's no need to worry," Gerda said. A satisfied smile tugged at her lips. "And I hear you're to spend the afternoon with Princess Anna and Princess Elsa?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. I'll have Celia watch over you again. Just don't go wandering off again."

"Yes, ma'am," Robin repeated, hardly trusting her voice. _Celia_. The servant girl hadn't appreciated it when Robin escaped from her the last night, and had made that clear as she guided Robin to dinner the night before.

Robin could handle getting scolded and shoved around, but it would be more difficult pushing the naïve Princess Anna for information with an adult watching. Princess Elsa would be difficult enough to work around.

Gerda seemed to understand that Robin was in no mood for conversation, and they settled back into their chores. The older woman made sure to take the lion's share, encouraging Robin to take breaks whenever she felt tired. Every once in a while she would offer Robin a matronly sort of smile, and it was almost impossible to believe that this was the same woman who treated her so coldly only a few nights ago.

Then again, her bruises had made quite the impression.

Robin attacked her work with an angry fervor, pushing away the instinct to run and run and run forever, away from this country where nothing made any sense, away from this castle that offered her food and shelter for no reason at all, and away from the guilt of lying to the only people who had shown her any kindness in more than three years.

* * *

Mathematics—geometry especially—was one of Elsa's favorite subjects, but as the lesson passed she found her thoughts straying. Anna had enthusiastically informed her earlier in the day that Mother had approved of her plan to show the intruder around the castle, with the caveat that they be watched by one of the servants.

That helped ease some of Elsa's misgivings, but there was more at stake here than a simple tour. Elsa had to prove herself to her younger sister and right the ship that went astray that night in the ballroom all those years ago. This was a chance show her superiority over Robin. It might be her _only _chance.

Elsa was restless and hadn't slept well. Normally she was a morning person, but after a long night of staring at her bedroom ceiling imagining all the horrible things that could go wrong, she had woken up groggy and tired.

"Princess Elsa!" her tutor barked sharply. "If you would please be so kind as to pay attention!"

"Sorry," Elsa said, cheeks flushing scarlet with embarrassment. She never was reprimanded during lessons. _Never_. Especially not during math.

The air grew cold, and Elsa wrung her gloved hands in her lap. She had to be in perfect control. She had to be a good sister and make Anna like her again. They had only just started opening up to one another when the intruder ruined everything, but that little taste of normalcy was enough to convince Elsa she never wanted to go back to the way things were.

This new revelation was quite at odds with her father's command to _conceal, don't feel_, but Elsa didn't really care. It was Anna who helped her control her power and Anna who made her feel like she wasn't a freak of nature. Elsa couldn't lose that a second time, not when she was just starting to still the storm inside.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the lesson ended, and Elsa went in search for her sister.

* * *

**AN:** I'm back! Sorry it took so long to get this up, but this chapter had me stumped for a while. I knew where I wanted to go, but wasn't sure how to get there. Things are a little more organized in my brain now, so hopefully the process can move a little bit faster.

I thank you for your patience. Next chapter we finally get Elsa, Anna, and Robin in the same room at the same time. Plus Ceila, I guess. But she's an OC, so she doesn't count.


	16. Joan of Arc

"Come on, come on, _come on_! Hurry up, Elsa, we've gotta find Robin!"

Elsa yelped in surprise as her sister grabbed her hand and started dragging her down the hallway. "Stop it! You'll pull my glove off."

"It's not like you need it anyway," Anna retorted. "It's summer. You can't be cold."

Elsa pulled out of Anna's hold and crossed her arms. "That's not why I wear them," she said quietly.

"What?" Anna said, frowning with impatience.

"I don't wear my gloves because I'm cold." Elsa made a noise that was dangerously close to a snort. "I don't think I can even _be _cold."

Impatience changed to curiosity. "Then why?"

"It helps keep me in control. I can't take them off, Anna."

"Wait, what?" Anna said. Elsa had to look away as a confused look flashed across her sister's features. "Are they magic gloves?"

"No, of course not," Elsa said.

"Then how do they help? I mean, you could just freeze normal gloves just as easy, couldn't you?" Anna asked.

Elsa took a breath to answer, then paused. How did her gloves help keep her magic under control? It wasn't something she had ever thought about before, and she wasn't sure she could put it into words. They just _did_.

"Sorry if it's a stupid question," Anna said, scuffing one shoe against the floor.

"No, no, it's not stupid," Elsa reassured her, her voice distant. "It's just…I don't know."

* * *

Robin was very grateful when Princess Anna arrived. She had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity with Celia the palace servant. She was young, Robin would guess not even twenty years old, and stiffer than a block of wood. Robin did not like her on instinct, and the feeling was mutual.

"There you are!" Princess Anna called. She rushed towards Robin, her sister following at a more reasonable pace. "Ready to go exploring?"

Celia dipped in a curtsy before Robin could answer. Robin aped the unfamiliar gesture, feeling rather foolish as she did so. No one had mentioned her lack of proper etiquette or tried to correct her, but she was pretending to be a citizen of Arendelle. She had to act like the king was her king and Princess Elsa her future queen—though _that_ thought made her want to gag. Princess Anna did not care, but the character Robin was playing _would_, and Robin couldn't make any more mistakes if she wanted her lies to last long enough to meet the trolls.

Princess Elsa returned the curtsies with a small nod of the head, her gaze lingering on Robin a shade longer than necessary. Robin looked away so the older princess could not see the resentment smoldering behind her polite mask.

"I'd be happy to spend the afternoon with you, Your Highness," Robin said quietly.

A confused frown crossed Princess Anna's features, and she, too, studied Robin. Then she shrugged her shoulders and smiled a smile that was warmer than sunlight. "Okay. Where do you want to go first?"

The question caught Robin off-guard, and she didn't know how to answer. "Um…"

"I thought you were showing her places she hadn't been," Elsa said, amused. "You'll have to show her."

"Oh, right! Okay then, since I'm guessing we can't explore the grounds…"

"That is correct," Celia said.

"And I showed Robin most of the places yesterday, that leaves…" Anna thought for a moment, and snapped her fingers. "I know, the portrait gallery! Come on, follow me!"

* * *

The portrait gallery was a smaller room tucked away in a seldom-used corner of the castle, and Anna was nearly certain that Robin had never seen anything like it before. Each piece was expertly done by a master, some so realistic they almost seemed alive. There was no rhyme or reason to the display; a whimsical painting of a couple laying in a meadow hung next to the regal profile of a man who could have been one of Anna's ancestors.

Anna had the satisfaction of seeing Robin's eyes go as big as saucer plates as they walked into the room. Robin craned her head, trying to see everything at once while Anna chattered on about her favorite pictures. Every once in a while Elsa would interject a small correction, but for the most part seemed content to let her sister do the talking.

"And this one's called 'Dancing Couple'. I think it's really romantic." Anna copied the pose of the woman in the painting and let out a dreamy sigh. "Don't you think it looks romantic, Elsa?"

"I guess," her sister answered.

"You guess! Look at how he's looking at her! He's about to sweep her off her feet," Anna exclaimed.

"I like my feet on the ground," Elsa said, earning a face from Anna. She smiled. "Maybe I should all my suitors to you. They can all fight for the right to ask you to dance."

Anna took this into consideration. "I just want one, thank you. They say that you can tell true love at first sight. I bet it looks just like _that_," she said, making the pose a second time.

"Who's this?" Robin asked before her sister could respond. The two princesses came to where she was standing. The picture in question showed a woman in full plate armor on a white horse wielding a sword and shield as she rode out into battle.

"Oh, that's Joan of Arc," Anna said. "It's a really good, isn't it? I admire her, even if she was burned at the stake."

"What?" Robin asked, tearing her eyes from the painting to look at the princess.

"She said she heard the voice of _God_," Anna explained. "When she was only seventeen she commanded an army and won a bunch of battles she wasn't supposed to. She was willing to fight the world for her country's freedom, but she was captured and executed when she was nineteen for heresy."

"And sorcery," Elsa added quietly. "Magic was illegal, and they thought she charmed the Dauphin to gain command of the army."

Robin did a double take. "Magic is illegal?"

"Not in Arendelle!" Anna said as Elsa flinched. "Magic has never been illegal in Arendelle, and it's not in most other countries anymore either. Joan of Arc lived _ages_ ago, and no one knows for sure if she could use magic or not. Right, Elsa?"

There was a heavy silence. Anna gnawed on her lower lip as her gaze flickered between Robin and her sister. Elsa had her hands tucked under her armpits and her expression was closed, while Robin's attention was captivated by Joan. The mood had been shattered, and she wasn't sure how to go about fixing it.

"That's enough paintings for today!" Anna declared with false enthusiasm. "Let's go look at something else."

Anna marched out of the portrait gallery and the others followed, Elsa despondently looking at the ground and Robin with a final glance at the controversial warrior who had lived and died centuries before.

* * *

Despite Princess Anna's best attempts, she could not regain the attention she lost in the portrait gallery. Robin obediently followed wherever the younger princess led and found her to be surprisingly knowledgeable about the history of the castle. Princess Elsa trailed along like a shadow, rarely raising her head even to glare at Robin.

Robin did her best to be polite, answering questions when she was supposed to and engaging when it was expected, but her thoughts were on the woman in the painting. Joan of Arc, the revolutionary who may or may not have been crazy, who died at nineteen while fighting the world. Robin felt a strange sort of kinship when she saw the unyielding determination in the painting's eyes. It was insane to feel a connection to a long-dead woman who she had never heard of before today, but Robin couldn't help but wonder if they shared a common fate.

Slowly but surely Princess Anna's enthusiasm left her, but doggedly she continued the tour, and they ended up on one of the battlements overlooking the city. At first Celia protested, but Princess Anna countered by saying they were still technically on the castle and the servant was overruled.

Robin looked down the dizzying height and rubbed her shoulder. The walls looked so much taller in the daylight. It was hard to believe she had actually climbed them in the dead of night.

"It's better than the window, isn't it?" Princess Anna said. The wind blew her bangs into her eyes, and she combed them back with her fingers. "You actually get to smell the fresh air."

That statement, along with a dozen others she made over the past few days, nagged at Robin. "Are you really not allowed to go outside?" Robin asked quietly, trying to avoid the attention of the older princess and their chaperone.

"Not usually. Not since…" she trailed off as Princess Elsa's head shot up. The older girl shook her head slightly, and Princess Anna's lips pursed together. "Not for a long time."

Robin studied the two princesses carefully. There was something here that she didn't know, a hidden history that the sisters shared. It had to be something about Princess Elsa's magic; nothing else made sense.

If only Robin could suss it out, then she would have another weapon to use against Princess Elsa if the need arose.

"We can't just go out wherever we want," Princess Elsa said. "There are precautions royalty has to take that others don't. I don't expect you to understand."

"Elsa!"

"It's true," the older girl said. Her blue eyes were as cold and unforgiving as winter, and for the first time since the portrait gallery she drew herself up to full height. "The royal family is responsible for the wellbeing of the entire country, and if anything were to happen then all of Arendelle would suffer. That's not something a commoner has to worry about."

Robin clenched the ledge of the battlement and took deep breaths until she was sure she could keep her voice under control. "You're right, Princess, that isn't something us commoners have to worry about."

"I didn't mean it like—"

"I'm ready to go back, Princess Anna," Robin said.

"O-Of course," she answered. When she thought Robin's back was turned, the younger princess glared at her sister. Princess Elsa was stunned. In all likelihood she hadn't _meant_ to insult Robin, but her lack of tact had the same result.

If Princess Elsa had won last night's round, then Robin felt like she won today's. The afternoon with Princess Anna had been educational, and she made Princess Elsa look like a fool without compromising her cover. All that was left to do was with for the Elder Troll's answer to the king's summation.

* * *

Unlike other monarchies, the royal family of Arendelle employed few servants and rarely opened its doors to outsiders. Celia did not learn the reason behind this mysterious behavior until she was sworn in as the newest member of the palace staff over a year ago. Even then, she had not been trusted with the reason of Princess Elsa's…eccentricities until she had proven herself worthy.

The outside world did not understand the need for such secrecy, and many a rumor circulated about what circumstances had led to such a sudden change within the royal family four years ago. The king and queen of Arendelle were forced to trust their staff perhaps more than any other kingdom in the world, and the staff was forced to depend on one another as they tried to maintain the castle with vastly reduced numbers. It was a unique culture brought on by outstanding circumstances, and in many ways the royal family and the servants looked to one another a sort of sprawling, extended family.

No one knew what to think of the girl who was found in the library, and the brat was starting to strain that carefully built trust. Celia was no fool. There was something _unnatural_ about the dark-haired girl, although she couldn't quite figure out what.

Perhaps it had something to do with her escape the night before. Celia had been duped before by Princess Anna, but upon reflection could always figure out how the princess made her escape. This was different; Celia had no idea how Robin did it. One moment the girl had been standing right next to her, and in the next she had vanished into thin air.

It was unnatural, perhaps even magical, but did anyone listen to her? No. Celia's concerns were brushed away like a bit of unwanted dirt.

So she watched, and she waited. The little begger had to slip up sometime, and when she did, Celia would be ready.

* * *

**AN**: Oh, Robin, you really shouldn't provoke the girl with unstable ice powers.

On an unrelated note, I never thought I'd be doing research on Joan of Arc and the history of the curtsy for this story. Live and learn, I suppose XD

As always, thanks for reading. See ya'll next time.


	17. Broken Trust

"What is your _problem_?" Anna exclaimed in exasperation.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Elsa said. "I just—"

Anna cut her off with a glare. "Would it kill you to be nice? Robin already doesn't think you like her."

Elsa flinched but didn't argue. The air grew cold enough that Anna could see her breath. There was tense silence, and it felt like there was an impenetrable wall between the sisters. Realization dawned on Anna, and she took a step backwards.

"Wait, you _don't _like Robin, do you?"

Her sister couldn't even look her in the eye.

"I can't believe you," Anna said numbly. "She's not said one mean thing about you. Not one. Robin's a nice person and my friend, and I won't…I won't stand for you treating her different just because she's _common._"

"That's not what this is about, Anna!" Elsa said. She stomped her foot in frustration, and a layer of frost spread across the ground. "Robin isn't who you think she is."

Years of repressed frustration bubbled to the surface. Anna could accept all of Elsa's past secrets and lies. As much as she hated them, she could see how they served a purpose. But this…this was different. It was prejudice, plain and simple, an utter betrayal of the principles instilled in them by their parents. All of Anna's respect for Elsa shattered, the figure she looked up to most tarnished beyond repair.

"I thought if there was anyone who knew what it would feel like to be different it would be you." Hot, angry tears fell down Anna's cheeks. "I guess not."

Anna turned and ran, ignoring her sister's shrill cries for her to stop.

* * *

As soon as they were in the castle, Robin slipped away from Princesses Anna and Elsa and doubled back to the portrait gallery. The afternoon had been nice, but right now Robin wanted a little time to herself to think.

Robin stared up at Joan of Arc. Did she ever have these niggling doubts in her chest that made it nearly impossible to move forward? Did she ever second-guess her purpose in life? Did she ever feel the weight of her enemies and want to give up?

_She was willing to fight the whole world for her country's freedom._

"I know what that's like," Robin said to the painting. Dark, intense eyes stared back, absolutely resolute. No, if the real Joan of Arc was anything like this picture, Robin doubted she regretted much of anything.

There was a flash of movement, and Robin turned her attention to her phantom eyes only to see a distraught Princess Anna rush down the hallway. With a small frown Robin went to investigate. Sure, the princess's grand tour hadn't gone as planned, but there was no reason for her to be so upset.

Had Princess Elsa done something? The older princess was nowhere to be seen, the coward. Did she still not understand how much her younger sister idolized her?

Pushing those thoughts away, Robin used her power to trail Princess Anna. The younger girl knew the castle's layout like the back of her hand, and sent Robin on quite a chase through hallways, up stairs, and through rooms that looked like they hadn't been opened in decades.

But they ended up someplace familiar. Robin found Princess Anna sitting on the same bannister railing where they met the day before (_had it only been a day? It seemed like so much longer_), wiping her nose with the back of her hand. Her back was to Robin, giving the other girl time to study what was wrong.

Princess Anna was clearly upset, and for a moment Robin was rooted in place. She had seen the princess morose before, but now she was _crying_. What was she supposed to do with a crying princess, console her? Give her a hug and say everything would be all right when it clearly wasn't? Robin had little experience being comforted—and less experience comforting others—and had no idea what was appropriate behavior, or if it would even help.

It was almost enough to make Robin slink away and pretend she hadn't seen anything, but Princess Anna looked so…so sad. The young girl had been nothing but kind, insisting on making Robin feel welcome where she had no business feeling welcome, answering her questions about magic and trolls, and making the time to spend time with Robin when she had no obligation to do so.

They would have been friends if Robin would allow herself to have a friend. Swallowing against the hard lump in her throat, Robin took a tentative step forward.

"Princess Anna?" she asked.

The other girl, still unaware of Robin's presence, startled. She lost her balance and started to fall off the railing, where there was a twenty foot drop to the ground.

Robin didn't have time to think. She called on her power and grabbed Princess Anna around her midsection, hoisting her back over the railing. The princess fell hard and had the wind knocked out of her, but that was infinitely better than falling hard and getting her head cracked open.

Princess Anna looked at Robin with wide eyes, and at that moment Robin knew she had made a terrible mistake. She took a step back, then another, ready to run—trolls and ways home be damned—when Princess Anna got enough breath back to speak.

"You've got _m__agic_."

* * *

Agdar sat at his desk, report in hand. He had read it over three times already, and was still trying to wrap his head around its meaning. He would have liked to consult his wife, but the meeting with the merchant guild was running long, and she was unavailable.

The last of the men he sent out to confirm Robin's story was back, and just like the rest his message was the same: None of the people who had come to the castle the day she was found in the library remembered seeing a young girl with black hair, let alone one begging for passage further west. In fact, none of them had plans to even _go _west.

The bruises, her polished speech, sneaking into his library…what did it all mean? Agdar didn't know, and it felt like he was right back at square one.

Robin was lying to them. Perhaps she was too afraid to tell the truth, but that wasn't a chance the king was willing to take. He ran a hand through his hair. What was he supposed to do with her now? The trolls still hadn't sent a response, and it was uncertain if they ever would. He wanted to trust her, to believe she was nothing more than a frightened child running away from a terrible situation, but that was impossible. The pieces simply didn't add up.

She expected him to throw her into prison. She _expected _him to hurt her. Who or what could condition a young girl to think in such a way?

Agdar didn't know, and it was a mystery he couldn't solve unless he got Robin to tell the truth. Groaning in frustration he held his head in his hands. As much as he hated it, perhaps it was time to start taking drastic measures.


	18. Confidant

"_You've got magic."_

Three words was all it took for Robin's world to collapse. How incredibly stupid could she be to show off her Devil Fruit power to Princess Anna. How idiotic. How _foolish_. Robin had survived three years against the World Government and pirates and bounty hunters by her smarts alone, and now she was going to be undone by a witless princess who couldn't even see that she was being used.

_She was going to fall_, a small part of her said. _She was going to fall and get hurt, maybe even die._

_Why was she going to fall?_ A nasty voice responded._ You couldn't leave well enough alone and let her cry by herself. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, _stupid!

Princess Anna wasn't crying now. She rolled off her back and sat cross-legged on the ground, massaging her tailbone as she looked at Robin with wonder. "Wait, what? _You've _got _magic?! _How? Since when? Why didn't you say anything? I mean, your control is so much better than Elsa's…ohmygosh, does _Elsa _know?!"

Her voice was raising in volume, her words running together in her excitement. If allowed to continue someone would hear, and then Robin would be in even more trouble.

"Did you grow an arm?" Princess Anna asked as she got to her feet. "Were those flower petals? Where did they go—_mrrph_!"

Robin clasped her hand against the princess's mouth to silence her. Princess Anna's eyes blazed with indignation, and she licked Robin's palm. It was one of the grossest things Robin had ever felt, but she held firm.

"It's not magic," Robin said in a low hiss. "And you can't tell anyone."

Princess Anna nodded her head, her eyes impossibly wide.

"I mean it," Robin said. She tried to sound authoritative, but the command came off as desperate. "No one."

Princess Anna only licked her again.

"Ugh!" Robin pulled her hand away and wiped it on her skirt. Princess Anna beamed at her.

"What do you mean it's not magic?" she asked, voice marginally more quiet.

"It's…It's…" Robin faltered, her mind scrambling for a way to salvage this situation. She couldn't say that she had eaten a fruit that gave her the power to grow limbs at will. Magic didn't work that way in Arendelle. Devil Fruits were scientific, mysterious at times, but generally predictable. Arendellian magic relied on something as fickle as the arrangement of the planets.

"It's a curse," Robin said finally. "I'm…I'm cursed."

Princess Anna's whole demeanor shifted. Though her cheeks were still stained with tears from her own problems she looked at Robin with something that was a mixture of compassion and horror.

"I'm so sorry. Was it a witch or an evil fairy?" Princess Anna bit her lip. "Sorry, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

But suddenly Robin _wanted _to talk about it. In a way she wa_s_ cursed, and even if the younger girl could never understand, Robin thought she would at least listen.

"It happened when I was little. Bad things happen to me all the time, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Everyone who ever cared is dead, and I'm lost, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Robin clenched her fists, forcing down the emotions that had been building ever since she was outcast to this strange, unfamiliar world. She looked at Princess Anna helplessly, knowing there was nothing the girl could do to make her situation any better. "I just want to go home."

Princess Anna didn't respond, and before Robin could say any more she found herself enveloped in a strong hug. The touch was a balm go her wounded heart, and Robin felt herself returning the gesture.

"I don't care if you're cursed," Anna said. "I'm still your friend."

This time Robin couldn't stop the sob as it bubbled out of her throat. This was stupid. Trusting Anna with something that was dangerously close to the truth was stupid. Allowing herself to _feel _after being burned time and again was _stupid_.

At the same time it felt so _good _to cry. The emotion was pure and jagged and raw, but there was healing in the pain. Robin clung to Anna like she hadn't clung to anyone in more than three years, not willing to let go lest she disappear like all the rest.

And as Robin cried, Celia slipped away from the shadows, ready to report what she overheard to the king.

* * *

Idun left the meeting merchant's guilt and went in search of her family when she nearly slipped. Surprised, she looked to see a white-blue trail of ice and frost going in the general direction of Elsa's bedroom. Immediately Idun changed course and followed it.

It had been a long time since Elsa lost control so badly. Even the night Anna learned of her magic she managed to limit the damage to cutting winds and a little ice. Agdar was convinced this was a sign of her improved control, and Idun was inclined to believe him.

Or perhaps not, Idun thought as she saw the ice crusting over the door handle to her daughter's room. Her lips pursed together in an unhappy line as she brought her knuckles to the door.

_Knock, knock, knock_

Elsa didn't respond, but Idun though she heard her say something to herself. Cold radiated from the door, and the queen was afraid of what she would find on the other side.

"Elsa, it's me," she said softly. "May I come in?"

"No!" her daughter's voice was harsh, panicked. Idun's eyebrows furrowed together.

"What's wrong? Elsa, please, talk to me."

"I-I can't. Everything's all _wrong _and I can't fix it. She won't _l-listen_, and I…I can't fix it."

The change in pronoun wasn't lost on the queen. Idun took a sharp intake of breath. _Of course_. Anna and Elsa had spent the afternoon together, and something—an argument, most likely—had upset Elsa enough to lose control of her magic.

Braving the cold, Idun entered her daughter's room. It took a few tries to get the handle to turn all the way and she had to put all her strength into opening the door. Ice cracked and grated and the cold was enough to snatch her breath away, but even that was not enough to prepare the queen for what she saw.

Elsa's room was completely frozen. Snowflakes hung suspended in the air and there was a suffocating heaviness. Slick ice covered the floors, furniture, and walls, reflecting deep purples and blues from what little light managed to shine through the window.

And Elsa. Poor Elsa stood at the center of it all. Her gloves were discarded by her feet and she cradled a silvery ball of magic in her hands. She looked up at her mother miserably, and it fell through her fingers, transforming into a dusting of snow that fell to her feet.

"I tried to fix it, but I can't," she repeated, tears streaking down her face. "It won't listen. I c-could do it when Anna helped, but now I c-can't."

Idun approached slowly, but was careful not to touch her daughter. Touch frightened Elsa, and right now she was not wearing her gloves.

"I see," the queen said softly. "And what did Anna do that helped so much?"

"I don't know! But when she's with me I feel calm. Anna's always going off and doing things she shouldn't, but she always comes back. She always keeps trying. A-and in the library she gave me enough courage to try, too."

"Ah," Idun said in understanding. Looking down at Elsa's hands, she asked, "May I?"

After a moment of hesitation, Elsa gave a jerky nod. The queen clasped her daughter's bare hands. They were frigid, and for a moment Idun was reminded of when Elsa was only a baby. No one could understand why she was always so cold, and there was fear that she was sick.

Then, of course, Elsa had proven them wrong by freezing her crib solid during a temper tantrum when she was six months old. There had been suspicions before that, but it was the first display of magic that her parents had seen in person.

Instead of alleviating her parent's fears, the truth only intensified them. Idun and Agdar feared what the people would think if they discovered her secret, they feared that their second child would share the same burden, they feared that Elsa might hurt someone with her power.

Elsa was surrounded by fear on all sides, adding to the worries she put on herself. Elsa was a smart girl. She knew what she was capable of.

But Anna never feared, not even when she knew of her sister's magic. It wasn't in her nature.

"I may not have your sister's courage, but I would like to help," Idun said. "Your father said you were able to direct your power. He was proud of you; we both are."

Elsa let out an involuntary shudder and refused to look her mother in the eye.

"Try one more time, Elsa," Idun said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement. "I know you can do this."

There was silence, and Elsa pulled away. At first Idun thought she would refuse, but she took a deep breath and let it out slowly through her nose, moving her hands in motions only she understood.

Elsa coaxed her magic like one would a stubborn cat. Idun could not see any difference, but she could _feel _it in her bones. The ice on the walls started to disappear—not melt, _disappear_—and the suspended snow gathered to her hands. It was slow work, and several times it crawled almost to a stop. Every time that happened, the queen would whisper at Elsa to keep going. Her daughter would squeeze her eyes closed, take another deep breath, and redouble her efforts.

Finally it was finished, and Elsa released her power, dispersing her magic until there was nothing left. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, and she was breathing heavily, but it worked. She had been able to take control.

Almost immediately Elsa snatched her gloves off of the ground and shoved them back on her hands. She did not appear happy with her success. Instead shame clouded her eyes as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned her back to her mother.

"You did it, Elsa," Idun said. "You should be proud. I know I am."

Elsa sniffed. "It doesn't matter."

Idun was taken aback. "All right. How about you tell me what's going on between you and your sister."

With halting, disjointed sentences Elsa told her mother about the conversation on the battlements and the subsequent argument. She told how Anna was set on befriending Robin even though the girl was suspicious and untrustworthy, and how because of it they would never be as close as they once were.

"You're afraid of losing Anna," Idun summarized once she finished.

"It's already happened," Elsa said. "She said so herself."

"Elsa, darling, I think you may have misunderstood," Idun said, choosing her words with great care. "Anna loves you and nothing is going to change that."

"But she said—"

"She was defending her friend because you said something unkind, whether that was your intention or not," the queen interrupted. "I think if you apologize Anna would be more than happy to forgive you."

Elsa's breath hitched. "But what she said was true. I _don't _like Robin. She's…she's _sneaky_, and I don't trust her."

"No one said you had to, but that gives you no right to treat Robin with disrespect or cruelty," Idun said, her voice hard. "Your father and I have made a decision, and she will be staying here for the time being. There are reasons for this, even if you don't know them. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Mother."

Idun lifted Elsa's chin up and wiped away her tears with a thumb. "I have faith in your ability, Elsa. It is difficult, but when you're queen you will be forced to deal with a great many people you don't like. This is...practice."

A ghost of a smile graced Elsa's lips. "Yes, Mother."

"Good. Now let's go find your father and sister. I think it's past time for supper."

* * *

Agdar found himself staring at a heavy wooden door. It was a vestige of a long-passed age, leading to a room that had not been occupied in nearly two hundred years, not since the last days of the Magic Wars.

Raising a hand, he traced a finger over the wood in a complex pattern while murmuring the words that would activate the ancient charms imbedded in the door. Hidden runes glowed in golden-white light and disappeared, but the king could feel the power humming in the air.

"Wh-what is that, sire?" the captain of the guard asked from his side.

"Anti-magic room," he replied with little enthusiasm. "It was used to keep enemy mages safely under lock and key."

"And how did you…?"

"I merely awakened the power from its slumber. It was designed so that even those without magic of their own could use it."

"I…I see. And why are you awakening it now?" the captain asked.

"Something is amiss," Agdar said, the tale of the young servant girl still ringing in his ears. "I can't risk harm coming to my family, and until I can find answers this is the best place for her."

"Who, Your Highness? Princess Elsa?"

_I saw it with my own eyes, Your Highness. The girl used black magic. She's _cursed.

"No, no not Elsa," Agdar said. "The girl, Robin. Prepare your men, captain. I don't want to have to use force, but we may not have a choice."


	19. The Demon Child

"Where are Idun and Elsa?" Agdar asked.

"One of the servants said they were both in Princess Elsa's room," a soldier replied.

"Send a man up and tell them to stay there until I call for them," Agdar replied. "Have the rest of the servants been cleared out yet?"

"Yes, Your Highness," another said. "Gerda and Kai have sent word, and there's no one in that area of the castle."

"Except Anna and Robin," Agdar said, rubbing his chin in thought. He looked at the half-dozen soldiers awaiting his command. Each one was hand-picked by the captain of the guard for this task, strong warriors with good heads on their shoulders. "I want to be very clear: Do not antagonize Robin. We don't know the extent of her power, and to my knowledge has done nothing wrong some coming to the castle. I will speak to her first and give her a chance to explain herself. There's a chance this has all been a misunderstanding."

"And if she doesn't comply?" one asked.

Agdar let out a heavy sigh. "If it comes to that, you have my permission to use whatever force necessary to get her into that room."

* * *

"When I was little Elsa hit my head with magic. I remember being so cold I couldn't stay awake." Anna fingered the white streak in her hair. She and Robin were sitting on the top step of the stairwell together, neither having much motivation to go someplace else after Robin's emotional breakdown. "Mama and Papa took us to the trolls to make it better, and that's when I forgot. Elsa basically locked herself in her room for years, and I had no idea why. I _still _wouldn't know why if I hadn't barged in on her."

"Why'd she do that?" Robin asked. Her voice was rough and her eyes puffy from crying, but otherwise seemed to be in control of her facilities now.

"Because she didn't want it to happen again. Elsa would never hurt anyone on purpose, but sometimes she gets scared or upset, and it slips away. But you're different. Maybe you could teach her."

Robin shook her head. "It's not the same. I…I wasn't born like this, and I don't have any problems controlling it."

Anna hummed thoughtfully as she kicked her feet. "Strange curse. And you said you didn't believe in magic."

"I didn't."

Robin didn't elaborate, and a strange, pensive look crossed her features. She stood suddenly. "Something's happening."

"Wait, what?"

A door downstairs opened, and Papa walked through. When he saw them, a thin-lipped smile spread across his face. "Good evening, girls."

"Hi, Papa," Anna waved. She almost asked him if he knew about Robin's curse, before stopping herself at the last second. It was a secret! As important as the one Elsa kept for four years, maybe even more so. Although Anna didn't understand the details, Robin was convinced that terrible things would happen if people found out.

"Anna, can you come down here for a moment?"

"Sure. C'mon, Robin. It's probably time to eat." Anna tugged on her friend's hand, but she didn't move. "Robin?"

All the color had left her face as she stared vacantly into space. Her eyes found Papa, and she glared at him, expression turning as stony and impassive as stone. Gone was the sad, quiet girl Anna knew, something angry—hateful, even—taking its place. The suddenness of the change startled Anna, and she withdrew her hand, an uneasy pit forming in her stomach.

"Robin, will you come here, please," Papa asked. His voice was gentle yet firm, and Anna could tell he saw the change as well.

"What do you want with me?" Robin said.

"Just to talk."

The entire exchange left Anna totally confused. Her papa wasn't angry and no one was in trouble, but Robin was _shaking_.

Tentatively Anna locked elbows with Robin. Maybe she was just frightened that Papa would find out about her curse, although if Anna were honest, Robin looked anything but afraid.

"It'll be okay. We can go together." Arm in arm, Anna took the first step down the stairs.

"No! Don't touch me!" Robin tore herself from Anna's grasp and pushed the younger girl away. Anna's feet got caught up in one another and she began to tumble down the stairs. Her father cried out as Anna's head smacked against the bannister, and seemingly out of nowhere guardsmen rushed to her aid.

No, not to her. To Robin. The guardsmen left Papa to cradle his daughter in his arms and charged Nico Robin, the cursed girl with the angry face of a demon.

* * *

Robin ran.

All semblance of rational thought left the second Anna fell down the stairs. Confusion and panic blinded her, and instinct took over. Men with crossbows were chasing her, the only thing to do was run.

It was clever of the king to try to lure her down where the ambush was set up, but they didn't know that Robin's eyes saw through the deception before it could even begin. Once she was outside the gates they would never find her. She would leave the country. She would leave the continent. She would go to the other side of the world if that's what it took, but they would never find her.

_We can go together._

Robin's eyes blurred and she made a noise that was somewhere between a hiccough and a sniffle. She forced the tears away wrathfully. She had no right to cry, not after what she had done to Anna. It was impossible to believe that the princess had anything to do with the king's attack, and Robin had hurt her.

"Halt! In the name of the king!"

Robin tore around a corner, praying that her feet would remember the way to the gates. The castle wasn't overly large, but many of the corridors looked the same. It wouldn't be long until they started shooting, and then they would be in real trouble.

"I said stop!"

It was a dead end. Robin turned to see a guardsman aiming a crossbow at her chest. Robin raised her hands in surrender.

"Follow me," he commanded. "No funny business!"

He was nervous. Robin could see it in the unsteadiness of his hands. If she wanted make a move it would to be quick; anything too suspicious and he would shoot her. Her eyes saw that the others were closing in, cutting off all routes of escape.

Tripping would be too slow and Robin wasn't sure she could wrench the weapon out of his hands before he could pull the trigger. That left her with one option.

"_Dos fleur_," Robin whispered.

"Wh-what was that? I said no funny business!"

Since resorting to piracy Robin had been forced to come up with a way to fight much larger opponents. She'd studied several different martial arts before stumbling across something that complimented her Devil Fruit perfectly, and when putting into practice made a startling discovery:

An enemy's weapon was useless if he couldn't hold it, and it didn't take very much pressure to break a man's elbow.

"_Clutch._"

* * *

Any relief Elsa felt after talking with her mother was cut short when Father burst into her bedroom carrying Anna in his arms. Her sister was fighting against his hold, screaming at Father to let her go. Elsa and her mother quickly backed out of Father's way as he dropped Anna in Elsa's bed.

"What in the world is going on?" Mother asked.

"I don't know!" Father pinned Anna's arms to her side and kneeled down beside her. "Anna, calm yourself."

"It was an accident! Robin didn't mean it. You can't make her leave!"

It was then Elsa saw the goose egg that was starting to rise above her sister's eye. She had been hurt…by Robin? Angry vindication welled within Elsa. She had been right all along, and now Anna was suffering because no one had listened to her.

"I just wanted to talk to her," Father said to Mother helplessly. "Indun, the girl has _magic_."

Anna stopped her cries, and stunned silence reigned.

"Where…where is Robin now?" Mother asked.

Father ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. After pushing Anna she bolted. There are men in pursuit, but I have to go back. I need you to stay here until I send word."

A strangled cry sounded through the castle, and Father paled. Elsa looked between her parents and at Anna. The fight had left her sister, and she sat limply while staring at the floor. Everything was _wrong_, and Robin was in the cause of it all.

And Robin had magic. The thought sent a shiver down Elsa's spine.

"Let me go," she said suddenly. "I can stop her."

"Elsa, no! It's too dangerous!"

"More people are going to get hurt, and I can stop her," Elsa said, conviction growing with every word. "If she really does have magic, then I…I might be the _only _one who can stop her."

"You can't!" Anna exclaimed. "She's just scared because of her curse."

"Curse?" Mother repeated, confusion in her voice.

"Curse, magic, it doesn't matter. Right now Robin is a danger to herself and others." Father looked Elsa in the eye. "Are you sure about this?"

She had never been less sure of anything in her life, but Elsa nodded, and when she spoke her voice was firm. "Yes, Father."

"Then come with me. Anna, stay with your mother, and don't go anywhere until I send word!"

Elsa ignored Anna's protests and followed her father out the door. Fear tried to claw its way out, but she forced it away. For years Elsa had sacrificed everything for her sister, closing herself off and locking herself away for Anna's safety. Now a new threat immerged, threatening the wellbeing of the people she loved most.

Elsa refused to let it happen. She would stop Robin, no matter the cost.


	20. The Tragedy of Impulsiveness

**AN: **An anonymous reviewer pointed out that in chapter 7, Robin should have been able to use her DF despite Elsa's ice because Whitebeard was able to use his DF when trapped by Aokiji at the Marineford War (chapter 567 in the manga). I've only read through Marineford once and didn't remember that detail, and for the purposes of this story I'm going to say it's irrelevant. I might rewrite that scene in the future so that Robin was having too much of a mental freak out to concentrate on her DF, but for now, Elsa's ice as the same DF-negating properties as liquid water.

Thanks for pointing out, though, Mr./Ms. A.N Onimous. Stuff like that keeps me on my toes.

* * *

"What is the situation?"

"Sire, the girl is still in the castle," the captain of the guard said, snapping a salute. "I have men covering the main exits, but…"

"Yes?" Father asked.

"It's her power, Your Highness, it's like nothing I've ever heard of. Alois said she…made arms appear out of his arm?" the captain shook his head. "Whatever it was, she snapped his elbow before running off again. We've kept our distance since, trying to herd her to the room."

Elsa shuddered. What other terrible powers did Robin possess, and was it possible to even stop her? It almost seemed impossible that a girl a year younger than herself would be able to wield such powerful magic without difficult.

"You don't have to do this, Elsa," Father said softly.

"Will more people get hurt if I don't?"

Father didn't answer.

"A ruler's first duty is to their people," Elsa said, quoting the words she heard him speak countless times in the past. "The guardsmen might be able to get Robin eventually, but at what cost? Someone has already broken their elbow. If I can help someone with my magic, then I…I _should_, shouldn't I?"

Father placed a hand on her shoulder and didn't say anything for a long time. "You'll be a fine queen someday, Elsa."

Whatever else he might have said was interrupted by a guardsman rushing in to make a report. "Sir, she's gone down to the first floor corridor. I think this is our best chance."

"Very good. Try to keep her occupied, but do not engage her directly," the captain said.

"Elsa, are you ready?" Father asked.

No. She would never be ready. Elsa wrung her hands and nodded, and her father guided her to the first floor as he spoke.

"I know this will be difficult, but do not hit her with your magic directly. All the guards need is a way to apprehend her and keep her in the anti-magic room."

"Anti-magic room?" Elsa asked.

"It's…one of the old protections of the castle, in case there was a need to neutralize a wizard or mage during the Wars."

"I've never heard of it," Elsa said.

"There are several defenses you don't know about yet. There's never been any need," Father said.

Elsa's eyebrows drew together. "But if it can cancel out magic, why didn't you ever use it on me?"

Father came to an abrupt stop, anger flashing across his face. "I never want to hear you suggest such a thing again! That room is a cage. It was used as a holding cell for rogue magic users scheduled for execution. You…that room was never meant for you."

It looked like Father wanted to say more, but he didn't. Instead he let out a heavy sigh and continued walking.

"I think I can stop Robin if I trap her like I did in the library," Elsa said, changing the subject. "When Anna was getting you and Mother, she kept asking me to free her. I think if she could have done it herself she would have."

"Perhaps," Father conceded. "It would be best if we could manage a surprise attack. If she starts enchanting magic arms, I want you to run and let the guards take over."

Elsa stiffened. Did he think she wasn't able to face Robin head on? "But…"

"No. This is dangerous enough already. I don't want you to get hurt."

There was no arguing with him, so Elsa didn't bother to try. Instead she visualized her plan of attack. She could remember what it felt like that night in the library. One quick burst of magic was all that was needed to subdue Robin.

But the night in the library had been a fluke. At the time, Elsa hadn't known who was there or what she was doing. The magic was reflexive, done without thought in a burst of panic. This time things were different, and Elsa had to be in complete control.

And as her magic, fed by fear and anger and doubt, roared within her, Elsa wasn't sure if that was possible.

* * *

Robin's eyes caught a glimpse of the king escorting the princess through the hallways. At first she didn't pay it any mind, until she realized what they were doing. Now that they knew the power of her Devil Fruit, they were going to pit her against the young ice-witch.

Robin did not want a confrontation with Princess Elsa, but she didn't see any way around it. Since she used her power on the guardsmen the rest had stayed out of her range as they tracked her through the castle. More men had joined the chase, and unless she felt like being turned into a human pincushion, the only way of escape was through the older princess.

It was strange that they hadn't tried shooting her already. Robin could only guess that they wanted to take her alive to interrogate her. That was a weakness, one she could exploit if she got past the princess. She would have to be careful, though, not to harm Princess Elsa too badly, lest their hesitation to kill her disappear.

So she had to avoid the princess's ice magic without actually harming her. Robin didn't know if that was even possible.

Taking a deep breath, Robin stepped out into the great hall. Her eyes confirmed that Princess Elsa was hiding with the king behind one of the doors.

"I know you're there, Princess," Robin called. "You're not going to catch me off-guard a second time."

The door opened just enough to let the princess through. The two girls stared at each other from opposite sides of the room. Even with so much space between them Robin could feel the temperature plummet.

"Surrender," the princess said, a faint quiver in her voice. "You're surrounded. You can't win this fight."

As she spoke eight guardsmen burst through the doors on the upper level and placed themselves strategically around the balcony, crossbows trained at Robin.

Robin crossed her arms. If she timed it right, she'd be out the doors before they made it to the first floor.

"I won't say it again," Princess Elsa said. "You can't run forever. Give up, and the king will give you mercy."

"No."

"Then you give me no choice." Princess Elsa took a step, and ice spread across the floor of the great hall. Robin's eyes widened in surprise as the ground suddenly became slick, nearly causing her to fall. The princess had no problem with her footing as she walked closer with her hands raised defensively.

Robin knew she was in trouble now. It was time for drastic measures.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Princess?" Robin asked, clutching a pillar for support. "If you were smart you would have attacked already, but then again, maybe you _can't_. Your sister told me all about how you can't control your magic. Are you scared? Did you came down here to redeem yourself to Princess Anna? Because if you are, you're wasting your time. We both know you can't—"

"Shut up!" Princess Elsa shouted as a cold wind whipped through the room. Robin tensed, waiting for the attack that never came.

Maybe baiting the princess wasn't the best of ideas, but Robin had to level the playing field somehow, and if she got mad enough Princess Elsa would make a mistake.

"You know _nothing_ about me or my sister," Princess Elsa snarled. "Anna trusted you, and you hurt her!"

Robin snorted. "Well, I guess that's something we have in common."

The sudden gale tore the pillar from Robin's grip and she was flung backwards. The ice offered no purchase and she slid hard into a wall, cracking her head against stone. Red and black spots danced on her vision, and something warm began to trickle down her face.

Robin brought her fingers to her forehead, and they came back wet and sticky with blood.

It was time to get serious. The wind continued to howl as Robin struggled to stand, and icy sleet made it hard to see. It would be difficult to get off a shot in these conditions, and Robin thought she might be able to make it out of the castle alive. All she had to do was get past Princes Elsa.

"If you think parlor tricks are going to scare me, you're wrong. _Un Fleur_!" Robin shouted.

But just like the guardsmen, Robin could not see well through the blizzard-like conditions, and instead of sprouting an arm on Princess Elsa's shoulder it grew out of the middle of her chest. The princess screamed and silver-blue light fired from her hands. Instinctively Robin curled to protect herself, and a burst of pure magic slammed into her back with the force of a sledgehammer.

Robin fell a second time, and she did not get back up again.

* * *

**AN:** I've always found the opening or the movie where Elsa hits Anna's head with magic a bit curious. It's not made clear why direct magic to the heart is so much different than any part of the body, and Anna was able to survive for however long it took to actually get to the trolls without any further damage (i.e., the white in her hair does not change any more after the initial hit). Here is my interpretation:

I find it hard to believe that the night Elsa hit Anna's head was the first time Anna had been struck by her sister's magic. They were both shown acting fairly irresponsibly when they were kids, and the king's response ("this is getting out of hand") makes it obvious that was not the first time they'd had problems. The difference was Elsa's power wasn't as strong and she had never hit Anna in a vital spot before, namely the head or the heart. Yeah, Anna would be really cold for a few hours, but the magic would eventually wear off and everything would return to normal.

The hit to the head was dangerous because it made Anna's brain hypothermic, and all other affects to her body were secondary. Direct magic to the heart was dangerous because it _spread._ Similar to pumping blood, when Elsa struck Anna a second time, Anna's heart somehow spread the magic to all parts of the body. This resulted in Anna being literally frozen from the inside out, something we didn't see when she got hit in the head.

It also explains why the trolls would say a head is easier to cure than a heart (besides, you know, the metaphysics of the story). A brain injury is a tricky thing, but it's child's play compared to undoing magic that has spread like a cancer to every area of the body. An act of true love can heal a frozen heart because it's a Disney movie, and true love fixes everything in a Disney movie.

Not everyone may agree with this, but it's the view I'm going with for this story. What that means for Robin…I guess we'll see in the coming chapters.


	21. Nowhere to Run

Robin awoke in agony. It felt like she was being stabbed with an icicle every time she took a breath, and the slightest movement made pain explode through her back. Her head throbbed in time with her heart, and if Robin could have gotten enough air in her lungs, she might have screamed.

But she couldn't scream. Princess Elsa made sure of that, the icy tendrils of her magic wrapping around her right lung and squeezing it every time she inhaled.

It was difficult to comprehend much beyond the pain. She was in a dark room, covered in a blanket that did nothing to make her feel warm. Robin didn't think it was where she had been sleeping the last two nights, but she couldn't be sure unless she got up.

Robin had endured incredible amounts of pain in her young life, but nothing she had experienced compared to what she felt when she made herself stand. She bit her cheek hard enough to make it bleed to keep from crying out as the cold knifed through her back and around her side.

_Was this what Saul felt when he died?_ Robin wondered as she stumbled against a wall for support. Silent tears streaked down her face as she concentrated on the arduous task of breathing. Princess Elsa struck her just below her right shoulder blade, and Robin could feel the path her magic had taken just like she could a bullet wound. It had settled deep in the right side of her chest and seemed content to stay there, a bitter, artic cold that sapped every bit of her strength.

She had to escape. She had to get away, before Princess Elsa came back and killed her like Aokiji killed Saul. Robin had been in pain one way or another her whole life, she could handle a little bit more.

Forcing one foot in front of the other, Robin managed the four steps it took to get to the door. Sweat dripped down her face from the effort, mixing with dried blood blood and making the cut above her eyebrow sting. Robin wiped her forehead, and her stomach sank.

There was a barred slit in the door that let in a small amount of light, and Robin knew that this was a jail cell. She had failed her mission and now was in prison.

But prisons were escapable. Robin brought her hand to the wood to test it. White-gold runes flashed, and an electric shock shot up her arm. With a yelp Robin staggered back and fell on the ground. The runes faded as Robin massaged her arm and tried to move her fingers. There was a strange pins and needles sensation, but no other obvious harm had been done.

"I think I hate magic," Robin mumbled to herself as she stood. Cautiously she approached the door a second time.

Now that she knew it was there, Robin could feel the power in the door. There was an inaudible hum in the air that reverberated in her chest, and her eyes started to smart if she stared too long where the runes had been. She had never felt or seen anything like it before and was unwilling to test it further without a greater understanding of how the magic worked.

With a small frown, Robin tried her Devil Fruit next. Between the cold in her chest and the numbness in her arm, she barely could concentrate long enough to call it, but she was able to sprout a pair of eyes in the hallway outside her prison.

There were two guards standing alert. They had their hands on the swords strapped to their hips, no doubt having heard Robin touch the door.

Robin dismissed the eyes and stumbled back to the bed, the effort of moving leaving her exhausted. Shivers wracked her body, and no matter how hard she thought she could not figure out a way to exit the room without first disabling the magic on the door.

* * *

Elsa sat on the edge of her bed and stared at her gloved hands. She had made a promise four years ago never to hurt anyone with her magic again. Now that promise was gone, just like every other promise she had made to herself regarding her power.

"What have I done?" she whispered.

It hadn't been on purpose. She had been angry, yes, but even as Robin taunted her with the worst day of her life Elsa hadn't wanted to harm her. Her intent was to freeze Robin in place so she could be brought into custody.

They said the road to Hell was paved in good intentions, and no matter what Elsa wished otherwise, there was no denying the fact that she had hit another person with her magic.

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Elsa? Can I come in?"

Elsa flinched at her little sister's voice and clenched her hands. Anna should be far, far away, where she wouldn't be hurt the next time Elsa lost control. Or maybe _Elsa _was the one who should leave. Would that not be the safest thing for her family?

"Elsa, please may I come in? I'm…I'm scared."

Anna, scared? That was impossible. Without thinking, Elsa stood and went to her door. With shaking hands she turned the handle and opened it just enough to see one sapphire-blue eye look up at her miserably.

"What's wrong?" Elsa asked, opening the door wider.

Anna only sniffed and flung herself at her sister, burying her head in Elsa's chest as sobs shook her small body. Elsa was utterly confused and returned the hug until Anna cried herself dry.

"I-I thought she was my f-friend. W-Why'd she try and hurt a-all those p-people?"

"I don't know," Elsa said softly. "But, Anna, I don't think Robin was ever your friend."

"S-she said she was lost. Why d-didn't she let us h-h-help her?"

A pained expression passed over Elsa's face. "I…I don't know."

Anna let out a deep, shuddering sigh. "What's going to h-happen now?"

Instead of responding, Elsa rubbed Anna's back in slow, small circles, just like Mother used to do to get her to sleep when they were younger. As much as she wanted to console her sister, the truth was she didn't know the answer to any of Anna's questions, and even if she did, Elsa doubted that Anna wanted to hear them.

* * *

"Your Highness, a message has arrived from the trolls."

Agdar looked from where the servants were cleaning up the grand hall to where Kai stood with a rolled up leaf in hand. Elsa had been in no condition to undo her magic, and half an inch of sleet and ice covered the ground, forcing the staff to clean it up the old fashioned way.

His daughter would not tell him what Robin had said to upset her so, and that worried him. Idun was still furious that he had let Elsa help at all, and now he was forced to wonder if he hadn't made a horrible mistake.

He kept replaying the last two days in his mind, trying to find what clue he had missed that would have revealed Robin's true nature. Agdar think of nothing that indicated Robin was willing and able to lash out against others with dark magic.

"Thank you," he murmured absentmindedly. He unrolled the leaf and squinted to read the small silver runes printed upon it. "Oh thank God, they're coming," Agdar laughed in nearly hysterical relief.

"Your Highness?" Kai asked.

"The trolls are coming. Oh, this is wonderful news. I must find my wife…" Agdar trailed off as a guardsman approached. "Yes? Has something happened?"

"In a manner of speaking, Your Highness," he said. "It's just the girl is awake. We heard her try t' open the door."

"I see," Agdar said, pursing his lips together. He scanned those who were cleaning. "Gerda?"

The woman stopped her work and approached. "Yes, Your Highness?"

"I want you to check on Robin while I find Idun. When I'm done, I must speak with her."

"Sire, you can't be serious!" she exclaimed.

"I'm completely serious. The magic of the room will keep you safe, and even as a prisoner has the right to be treated with dignity."

"But, Your Highness…"

"This isn't a request, Gerda," Agdar said, his voice hard. "I must find out who sent her here, and if a little kindness will loosen her lips then that is what we must give her. At the moment Robin is nothing more than an injured child, likely to be afraid and confused. We might not get another opportunity like this to get the truth out of her."

Gerda bowed her head. "Of course, Your Highness. Forgive my insolence."

She walked away without another word, and Kai cleared his throat. "Forgive me, sire, but if you're going to interrogate her, shouldn't you have her healed first? Princess Elsa's magic is very powerful, after all."

Agdar shook his head. "Elsa hit her back. Based on the research I've done, it shouldn't be fatal, and I don't want to risk taking her out of the anti-magic room until I know for sure she's not a threat."

"I see."

Taking a deep breath, Agdar looked at the leaf again. The trolls were a mysterious race, but there was no mistaking their wisdom and their power. If anyone could figure out the puzzle that was Robin, it was them.

Or, at least, that's what he hoped. It was against the law to practice the dark arts, and Robin had committed a capital offence when she attacked Elsa. Even with the anti-magic room Agdar was uncomfortable holding a magic user over an extended period of time, and if he could not get her to speak the truth, then he had little choice but to have her executed.


	22. An Educated Guess

Idun was finishing a conversation with the physician when her husband found her. The injured guardsman was resting quietly now, and luckily the break was a clean one. With time, he would be able to make a full recovery.

"Yes, he should take the medication three times a day for the pain," the physician said. "And no stressful activity! I don't know what kind of training your men are conducting, Your Highness, but he'll be out of commission for two months at least."

"Thank you, Doctor," Idun said with a tight-lipped smile. She didn't like having to lie about the cause of the man's injury, but they couldn't let news get out that there had been an attack in the castle. "If you excuse me, there are other things requiring my attention."

"Of course, of course," he bowed, and Idun took her leave. Ignoring her husband, she walked briskly up the hallway in the opposite direction.

He hurried to catch up with her. Idun knew her actions were childish, but at the moment she didn't care. How _dare_ he use Elsa like that? The castle guards were trained to handle incidents like this. Their daughter was not, and she struggled with enough already without adding this burden to her shoulders.

"Idun, wait! I need to talk to you!"

She turned up the stairway that led to their chambers.

"The trolls are coming," he called. "We need to be ready for them."

Idun spun sharply on one heel and pointed a finger at Agdar's chest. "You can take care of the poxy trolls yourself! I have gone along with your decisions for years, but now you've gone too far. No more! Do what you want, Agdar, but don't expect my help, because I won't!"

"I know you're angry, but please, listen to me…"

"_Angry_? I was angry when you sent a missive to the trolls without consulting me first. I accepted it, because I trusted you, but now I find myself questioning your judgement!"

"I did ask you!" Agdar said, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation.

"No, you didn't," Idun said coldly. "You brought it up, but we were interrupted before we could discuss it, and by supper you had already sent the invitation. And today you asked Elsa to use her _magic_…"

"This is bigger than Elsa!" Agdar exclaimed. "Idun, don't you see it? Robin couldn't have done this by herself."

Idun took a step back, confusion cutting through her fury. "What?"

"Think back to your stories. Do you think it's possible for Robin to learn advanced black magic by herself?" he asked.

"Well, no…"

"And do you think a normal girl could break into a castle and live for two days before anyone suspected her?"

"…No."

"And listen to this," Agdar said as he gripped her shoulders. There was a bright fervor in his eyes that Idun found frightening. "Elsa heard the incantation Robin said before she cast her spell. _Un fleur._"

"The girl knows French?" Idun asked, blinking in surprise.

"Robin knew where Elsa was hiding without being able to see her," Agdar continued as if she hadn't spoken. "When Robin pushed Anna, I think she was somehow able to see the guardsmen and was spooked into running. I don't think she was intending to attack anyone."

"But if someone sent her to infiltrate the castle, wouldn't she have a better cover story?" Idun said.

"Not if she wasn't supposed to stay for a long period of time," he answered.

Idun's eyes widened. "You think someone sent her to steal something from the library?"

"Perhaps, or perhaps her mission was to take her someplace else entirely, and if not for Elsa, she most likely would have succeeded. And if not for Elsa, I think she would have escaped us again today." Agdar took a deep breath. "You weren't there when I talked to Robin the first time, but she was afraid that I would have her put in chains. She's been afraid this whole time, and is lying because of it."

Idun pulled away from his hold and crossed her arms. She was still angry at him, but couldn't deny that what he said made sense.

"Your theory fails to account for one thing: Anna saw her in the woods well before she ever came to the castle. What was she doing there?"

"I don't know," Agdar admitted, "but I intend to find out. Someone out there is training children in the dark arts and using them for their own nefarious purposes. I won't stand for it, not in my kingdom."

* * *

It was only with the greatest apprehension that Gerda allowed the guards watching over Robin to unlock the door to the anti-magic room and let her inside. Magic had always made her a little nervous, and though she had become much more accepting of it since the birth of Princess Elsa, the idea that someone could break bones with only a few words sent a shiver down her spine.

And to expect such a thing out of little Robin! It was nearly inconceivable. The girl was quiet, shy even, and a diligent worker. She was a good playmate for the wildly exuberant Princess Anna, and with time Gerda thought Princess Elsa would enjoy her presence as well. Those two girls had gone so long without proper companionship, having another girl their age would have done them good.

It was all for naught. The Robin she thought she knew existed only in her imagination. Gerda had allowed herself to be played for a fool, and harm had come to the princesses because of it. She wasn't sure she could ever forgive herself, and she certainly wasn't planning on forgiving Robin.

But orders were orders, and Gerda would do what the king asked of her, no matter how much she disagreed with him. Gerda would make sure Robin was fed and watered, nothing more, and nothing less. That was all the kindness the girl deserved.

Gerda entered the room, balancing a tray in one hand and lifted a small kerosene lamp with the other. At first she couldn't find Robin in the small room, and her heart nearly jumped in her throat until she noticed the small bump on the bed, hidden beneath heavy blankets.

"Up and at 'em, young lady," Gerda called. "I've got your dinner here, and I can't leave until you've eaten it."

The bump stirred, and a tuff of black hair emerged from the blankets. "G-Gerda?"

"Chop, chop, I haven't got all evening," she said.

Very slowly, Robin crawled out of the blankets and slouched at the edge of the bed. She looked like a frightful mess, with dried blood on her hair, face, and clothing. There was something wrong with her eyes as well. Perhaps it was a trick of the shadows, but they were glazed over and unfocused. Gerda had to ignore every instinct that wanted to pity the girl as she placed the tray on her lap, reminding herself the terrible crimes Robin had committed.

"Eat," Gerda commanded when Robin hesitated. "It's not poisoned."

"Yes, ma'am," she whispered. Her right hand shook as she picked up the spoon and dipped it into the steaming hot broth, and she could only bring it halfway to her mouth before it fell out of her fingers and clattered back into the bowl.

Gerda watched in horror as Robin switched to her left hand, and with clumsy movements managed a few spoonfuls of broth before stopping.

"What's wrong?" Gerda asked.

"'S nothing," she mumbled. She moved to try another bite, but Gerda took the spoon from her. Robin's hands were ice-cold.

"You'll never finish this way," Gerda said. She dipped the utensil into the broth and brought it to Robin's lips. "Open up."

Robin did as she was told, enduring the humiliation of being fed like she were a baby in silence. Gerda made sure to go slowly, noticing the girl's breathing was rapid and shallow. She seemed to favor her left side as well.

When she was finished, Gerda helped Robin drink her fill of water. The servant gathered her things back on the tray and stood to leave, but something made her pause. Robin had not said another word, and Gerda had no more obligation to her.

But she looked so pathetic, and Gerda remembered the bruises she had seen on the girl's side and back. Robin had to have gotten those somewhere.

Gerda closed her eyes and sighed. Somedays she didn't think her conscience was worth the effort.

"I'll be back in a bit to get you cleaned up. You're lucky…" Gerda faltered, unable to think of what part of the girl's situation was fortunate. "You're lucky I'm here to watch after you."

Robin shuddered. "You don't have to. I know you don't want to."

"You're in no room to argue with me, young lady," Gerda said, her eyebrows snapping together. "Now lie down and get comfortable. I'll be back soon."

"Yes, ma'am," she said meekly. With careful motions she laid down on her stomach, and Gerda left the room, her vision misting over uncomfortably.

The king was waiting with the guards, looking at her expectantly. At that moment Gerda could have slapped him.

"Don't you dare think of going into that room until I'm finished with her," Gerda said, eyes flashing dangerously. "You _knew_. You knew I would feel sorry for her, and that's why you made me go in there."

"I knew you would do what is right and decent? You say that like it's a bad thing," the king said.

Gerda bit back a scathing remark and forced her face into a neutral expression. "That girl tried to hurt one of your children and _did _hurt the other," she said. "That's not something that be swept under the rug, not even by you."

"And unless we find out why, there's a chance it may happen again," the king said. The lines in his face deepened. "I know it's difficult, but I'm asking you to trust me, and if you can't trust me, trust your instincts. Do you think Robin attacked out of malice?"

"No," Gerda said grudgingly.

"Then continue what you're doing. With a little effort, we may win Robin over yet." The king clasped her shoulder and smiled. "I'm depending on you."

Well, when he put it that way…Gerda felt her frustration melt away. "I'll do my best."


	23. Challenged Assumptions

Anna sat with Elsa at the edge of her sister's bed. Every few seconds she would sniff or wipe her nose with the back of her hand. Elsa was kind enough not to scold her unladylike behavior, although that might be because she was too preoccupied with looking at her hands. It seemed like they had run out of words, and really there wasn't much that could be said.

Robin had done a Very Bad Thing with her magic, and Anna didn't understand. It hurt even to think of it, and in the craziness after Robin's apprehension no one had the time to explain what was going on. It wasn't terribly unusual for Anna to be overlooked, but right now she was so confused, and she needed someone, _anyone,_ who could spare her a few moments to comfort her.

That someone was Elsa, who for the first time in forever opened the door when Anna knocked.

"I'm sorry," Anna said, looking forlornly at her sister.

A crease appeared between Elsa's eyebrows. "Why?"

"I…I didn't listen. You tried to tell me, but I didn't believe you."

"I didn't explain myself very well. In the library after you left to get Mother and Father Robin acted so...so strangely, and, well, you were right. I don't like her." Elsa sister paused to collect her thoughts. "What do suppose she was doing looking at Viking stories in the first place?"

"I don't know," Anna said. "I never asked."

Again there was silence except for a patter on the window as it began to rain. Anna looked out at the pearl-grey clouds and sighed. Even the sky was unhappy today. It hardly seemed fair.

"Here, take this," Elsa said, handing her a handkerchief.

"What?"

"For your nose," she explained.

"Oh. Sorry." Dutifully Anna wiped her drippy nose, and suddenly her vision blurred once more. She didn't know why; she had cried herself dry already. Any more and she'd shrivel up like a raisin.

"What's wrong? Really?" Elsa asked quietly.

"Robin said if people found out about her curse bad things would happen. I found out when she kept me from falling, and now something bad happened." Anna wiped the tears away. "It's my fault."

"She kept you from falling? When?"

Elsa listened as Anna told of her near fall off the banister, her eyes widening in horror and surprise. She shuddered a little when Anna described how Robin's arms saved her, and when Anna got to the part where Robin cried her mouth dropped in disbelief.

"She said she wanted to go home," Anna said.

"But she pushed you down the stairs!" Elsa said.

Anna rolled her eyes. "I _tripped _down the stairs. She didn't even push me that hard."

"That doesn't make any sense," Elsa said to herself. "Why would she use her magic to…?" She shook her head. "It doesn't make sense."

Anna could only shrug as she turned her attention back to the window.

* * *

It was impossible for Robin to get comfortable, but it seemed like she had barely gotten as close as was able when Gerda returned. The older servant gave a sharp command for Robin to sit up, which she struggled to obey. Robin managed to get to the edge of the bed—which, she now realized, was the only furniture in the small room—without assistance as Gerda set down a large basin of water and a new set of clothes.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked dully.

"Getting you cleaned up," she said as if it were obvious. "You're covered in blood."

Of course she was. Head wounds always bled a lot. But Robin bit her tongue. Gerda might be helping her out of pity, but the truth was Robin _needed _the help. A deep, aching chill had settled into her bones, and she was as weak as a newborn kitten.

A wet cloth pressed against her forehead and began wiping away the dried blood. Robin's eyes fluttered closed at the gentle ministrations. The warm water felt good against her clammy skin, and she hardly felt it as Gerda dabbed the cut above her eyebrow.

"Tch. Probably should have a few stitches put in," Gerda said.

She rewet her cloth and began working on some of the clumps in Robin's hair, humming an unfamiliar song as she did so. Robin couldn't remember the last time someone helped wash her hair, and she decided she liked it. Gerda probably hated her, but she didn't pull too hard, and even though the work was tedious she got Robin as clean as was possible without a proper bath.

This had to be what it felt like to have a mother. Robin squeezed her eyes tighter to keep from crying.

"I didn't tug on anything sore, did I?" Gerda asked when she saw Robin's reaction.

"No," Robin said, her voice thick and heavy. "I'm fine."

"Then let's get you into something more comfortable. Do you think you can manage to get changed by yourself?"

Robin shook her head, embarrassed. She wasn't a baby that needed coddling, and maybe with her Devil Fruit she could have done it, but she _hurt_, especially on her right side where Princess Elsa hit with her magic. If she couldn't eat broth without help, then changing clothes was out of the question.

But Gerda took the admission in stride. "I thought as much. Stand up and I'll get you sorted out."

Robin did as she was told as the servant helped her out of her dress and into warm, winter pajamas. She didn't have any problems until she had to lift her arms above her head to put her arms in the sleeves of the night dress. The movement pulled stiff muscles and made her chest tighten uncomfortably.

"What in the…Dear Lord, this is where Princess Elsa hit you, isn't it?" Gerda asked as she pulled the garment over Robin's head. Her fingers brushed just below Robin's right scapula, and Robin couldn't stop a whimper from passing her lips.

"It's like touching ice," the servant breathed. Mercifully, she felt no need to press further, and after a final adjustment of her clothing allowed Robin to sit back down.

"Thank you," Robin whispered.

"It's the king you should be thanking," Gerda said, wrapping the blanket around Robin's shoulders. "Most rulers wouldn't stand for the stunt you pulled today."

"I know."

"Then you should know how important it is to tell the truth when he comes in to speak with you," Gerda said.

"Yes."

"Good." Gerda took a step back and observed her handiwork. "I don't pretend to understand magic, but it seems to me you have power in abundance. That's the sort of thing that should be used responsibly and only with the greatest caution."

"I understand," Robin said, feeling like she was a bug about ready to be stepped on.

"You need to answer the king's questions. Even his leniency can only go so far."

Robin looked down at her feet. "Yes, ma'am." Gerda gathered the basin and Robin's dirty clothes and went to leave. She paused at the door, giving Robin one final glance, before shaking her head to herself.

She was halfway out of the room when Robin gathered her courage. "Gerda, wait!"

"Yes?"

"I…I'm sorry. For everything."

Her face softened. "I know you are."

She was gone before Robin could say any more, the King of Arendelle in her place.

* * *

Agdar waited until Gerda was gone to pull the door closed. A heavy, suffocating darkness enveloped the room as the magical protections activated, the only light coming from the barred slit in the door. The room was quiet except for Robin's uneven breathing, and the king had to suppress the urge to start pacing. The anti-magic room made him immensely uncomfortable, and he didn't even have any power of his own. He couldn't imagine what Robin felt.

"Hello," Agdar said. "Do you mind if we talk for a few minutes."

There was a shift in the shadows where Robin was sitting but no answer. Taking that as a positive sign, the king continued.

"I'm going to speak with you frankly. I believe you are intelligent enough to understand the severity of the situation and the consequences if you choose to continue to lie. You weren't trying to run west, were you Robin? You had a purpose in coming here."

Robin's breathing quickened, but still she did not answer.

"All right, let's start with something simple. Is Robin your real name?"

"Yes."

"Are you from the mountains?" Agdar asked.

"No."

The king smiled. Now they were getting somewhere. "Where are you from then?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

Or maybe not.

"After the past few days, you'd be surprised at what I'm willing to believe," Agdar said.

"You think that someone sent me," Robin said. "You think I'm a spy, right?"

"Are you?"

"No! And if I tell the truth, you won't believe me."

Agdar ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath, letting out slowly through his nose so his frustration wouldn't show. He was so close, he could feel it, but had no idea what to say to break through the last of her defenses.

"Are the trolls still coming?" Robin asked quietly.

"Yes. They'll be here tomorrow," the king said.

"And they'll know if I'm lying, right?"

"I…well, yes, but it would be easier if you just told me now."

Robin shook her head. "You won't believe me," she insisted stubbornly. "But…but if you would wait till tomorrow, I'll tell you then and you'll know it's true."

It was an interesting proposition, and one Agdar was tempted to take. But the trolls would not actually set foot in the castle, not with so much iron on the premises. They would meet in the gardens, forcing them to take Robin out of the anti-magic room.

Would she try to escape again? Would she use her magic once more?

Would she hurt his children?

No, Agdar didn't believe she would. The injury from Elsa's magic would slow Robin considerably. He could utilize a full guard, with enough men to give even the most gifted magic-users pause.

"I told my men to capture you alive today," Agdar said. "I won't give that order a second time."

"I understand, Your Highness."

And Robin did. Agdar could tell by the gravitas in her voice. She was either very confident in her ability or truly willing to be interrogated by beings who could see through every falsehood.

"Very well. Tomorrow it is." Agdar reached for the door. "Is there anything I can get for you in the interim?"

"No, Your Highness. You're…you're too kind." Robin's head drooped, and Agdar thought she said something too quiet for him to hear.

"What was that?" he asked.

Robin glanced up at him and wrapped the blanket around herself tighter. "Nothing. It's just…you're too kind, and I don't understand why."

"Ah." Agdar smiled sadly. "Does that bother you?"

"Yes."

"I've learned over the years that a little kindness costs me nothing and generally gets me further than an iron fist. And," he added thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin, "I've still never met an eleven year old who has done anything worthy of execution."


	24. The Elder Troll

**AN:** Sorry for the slight delay in posting, but I caught a stomach bug and for awhile there my digestive tract was trying to gain independence from the rest of my body. I'm all better now, and to celebrate here's the longest chapter to date!

The AN at the end of the chapter is just me getting snippy with an anonymous reviewer. Normally it's the sort of thing I'd ignore, but it irked me more than usual and I felt the need to defend myself. Feel free to skip it if that's not your cup of tea.

* * *

"Today's the day."

Agdar smiled as his wife looked him over with a critical eye, brushing a bit of imaginary dirt off of his shoulder. Even when she wasn't happy with him, she refused to let him go out looking anything less than his best.

"Indeed it is," Agdar murmured, wrapping his arms around Idun's waist. "Today's the day we get to the bottom of this mess."

He leaned in for his customary kiss, only for Idun to place his hand to his chest and gently push him away. Agdar let his arms drop.

"I have a request," Idun said, not looking him in the eye.

"Anything for you."

His wife's eyebrows drew together, and for a moment she didn't respond. Then she took a breath to gather herself, and said, "I don't want the girls to go with you today."

"What?" Agdar asked.

"I don't want Elsa and Anna to see the trolls," Idun repeated. "Not after what happened last time."

"But, Idun…"

"I know you're doing what you think is right," Idun said, cutting off his protest, "and I…I don't disagree. But I don't want our children caught up in the middle of it. Yes, Anna knows of Elsa's magic, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Separating them again at this point would only end in disaster."

"But what if…"

"I don't want to put Anna in danger of Robin's magic…curse…whatever it is that lets her conjure arms out of thin air." Her frown deepened. "And I don't want Elsa to be in a position where she might have to use her magic against Robin again. It was only by chance that she didn't strike Robin's head or heart yesterday. Do you know how devastated Elsa would be if she caused serious harm to another person? I'm not sure she would recover."

Agdar pursed his lips into an unhappy line. His wife had a point, rue as he was to admit it. There was a stubborn part of him that wanted to bring the girls along regardless. He had questions about Elsa's magic, and the trolls would likely have the answers.

On the other hand, Agdar had made it a point _not _to depend on the trolls any more than he had to. Powerful as they were, they weren't human and didn't see the world as humans did. Their advice four years ago seemed reasonable, but given the events of the past weeks, perhaps was the wrong thing for his oldest daughter.

"Your wish is my command," Agdar said. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "The girls will stay here while I go with Robin."

"Thank you." Some of the strain eased out of his wife's face and she tugged a wrinkle out of his vest. "Go, find your truth. I'll take care of things here until you return."

* * *

"What do you mean we're not going to see the trolls?"

Elsa shrugged helplessly at her indignant sister. "I'm just saying what Mother told me. I think they think it's too dangerous."

"That's ridiculous!" Anna said.

Elsa privately disagreed. At the moment Robin's powers were contained because of the special room she was imprisoned in. Once she was let out…

The memory of the hand growing out of the middle of her chest flashed through her mind, and gooseflesh raised on Elsa's arms. The action itself hadn't hurt any, but it was so _unnatural_. Elsa knew it was hypocritical for her to think such a thing about anyone's magical ability, but growing arms was just weird.

"I won't stand for it," Anna said, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I want to see the trolls."

"Why?" Elsa said.

"Because…well, just because. Why _don't_ you want to see them?" Anna challenged.

Because Elsa found the trolls to be quite intimidating. Anna hadn't been conscious when they met them four years ago, but Elsa remembered. They painted a bleak and frightening picture of her future, and had forced Anna to forget.

The days after that visit were some of the worst of Elsa's life, and she had no desire to revisit them.

"Aren't you even a little curious?" Anna said. "Don't you want to know why Robin did all that bad stuff."

"A little," Elsa admitted. "But Mother said…"

"I don't care!" Anna exclaimed, balling her hands into fists. "Mama and Papa won't tell us anything. Papa might even make Robin forget like he did me. The trolls might be scaring her like they did you. She might even try to run away again."

"Why do you keep defending her?" Elsa asked. "It doesn't matter if she's cursed or lost or any of that, what Robin did was wrong, and she should be punished for it."

"Just because someone does a bad thing doesn't mean they're a bad person," Anna said.

Elsa rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "What would you even do if you saw them?"

Anna opened her mouth to answer, then paused.

"You don't know, do you?" Elsa guessed. "You were just going to rush out there and try to fix everything by yourself. Do you even know where Father and Robin are meeting the trolls?"

"Can't be that hard to figure out. There are going to be a ton of guards around," Anna replied mulishly.

"Who will see you and get you into trouble," Elsa finished for her. "We're not little kids anymore, Anna. You've got to use your head."

"Yeah, well, I don't see you coming up with anything better," Anna snapped. "This might be our last chance to figure out what in the world is going on, and I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing!"

The two sisters glared at each other, and it was Elsa who had to look away first. There was fire in Anna's eyes, an unyielding determination that would never back down from a challenge. She would go on ahead with her plan with or without Elsa's blessing.

She tried to hide it, but Anna was deeply hurt by Robin's actions the day before. Though she didn't say anything, Elsa wouldn't be surprised if Anna was still angry at her as well. The past few days had been hard on everyone, but Robin had been Anna's friend. It was natural that the betrayal affected her the most.

And she was right. This might be their last chance.

"_Fine_," Elsa said heavily. "But we do it my way. If anyone asks, I have a question that only the trolls can answer."

Anna rushed and gave her a tight hug around her midsection. It caught Elsa off-guard, and before she realized what she was doing, Elsa returned the gesture.

* * *

The next time Gerda came in to her prison, Robin was able to eat and dress without assistance. The pain had subsided some over the hours, and while it was still impossible to sleep, at least Robin didn't feel like she was being stabbed with an icicle every time she tried to breathe.

After Gerda left, a burly guardsman came in with a heavy pair of iron shackles. Robin allowed herself to be cuffed and escorted from her magical prison, where she was met by the king and several more guards with swords and crossbows.

"Are you ready?" the king asked.

"Yes, Your Highness," Robin said, squinting against the light after being in the darkness for so long. When she spoke one of the guards flinched, reaching for his sabre. If possible, this group was even _more _on edge than the ones yesterday.

Robin swallowed hard as the king began walking down the corridor. She could handle a few of them by herself, but there were half a dozen surrounding her with more waiting up ahead, each with the order to kill her if necessary.

Any residual doubts telling Robin to run melted away. It seemed like she would be meeting the trolls after all.

* * *

Apparently it had stormed during the night, and the air was hot and muggy. Robin welcomed it. Gerda had dressed her in heavy winter clothes, but she was still freezing cold. The ground squelched under her feet as the king let their group to the royal gardens where they were scheduled to meet the trolls.

The grounds were a lush green and well maintained. A winding stone path marked the way through patches of flowers both native and foreign to Arendelle, while strategically spaced trees offered relief from the growing heat. There was even a small pond where a mother duck led a group of bright yellow ducklings.

The king abruptly stopped in front of a moss-covered boulder and cleared his throat. "Forgive us for keeping you waiting."

Robin didn't have time to wonder who the king was talking to when the rock began to move. A few of the guardsmen swore as a head and short, stubby limbs emerged from under a moss cloak. Sleepy eyes blinked open, white sclera contrasting starkly with pebble-grey skin.

It was a troll, and it looked just like a rock, just like Anna said it would. Robin leaned in closer, utterly fascinated.

"No, forgive me, Your Highness," the troll said as he bowed low enough his bulbous nose touched the ground. "Made it down the mountain faster than anticipated and arrived ahead of schedule. Is this the girl you wrote about?"

"It is," the king said.

The king nodded to the guardsmen, and they parted enough to let the troll through. He took one look at Robin and shook his head.

"No, no, no. This won't do at all. You must take these chains off of her."

"You don't understand," the king said as frightened murmurs arose amongst the guards. "Last night we discovered she wields dangerous power. She's hurt people already and is a risk to flee."

"It is you who don't understand, Your Highness," the troll replied, his voice soft and polite. "I will not act so long as there is iron around her wrists."

For a moment the king was dumbfounded, but then he nodded. "Of course, I didn't even think of that. Release her!" he commanded.

"But, sire…"

"Do as the king says," the troll said gently. "Young Robin isn't going anywhere, are you?"

He looked at Robin, and the hair at the nape of her neck stood on end. She could see power in his black eyes, stretching back before the beginning of worlds and going deeper than the darkest crevices of the sea. It overwhelmed her and made her stagger backwards.

"The girl is no danger," the troll said gravely. "Please, free her from those horrible chains."

This time the guards did not hesitate, and before long Robin felt the extra weight fall off of her wrists. Her head still spun from the troll's immense power, and she almost missed what the he said next

"Very good. Now, if you'll excuse us, Robin and I need to have a talk."

"Alone?" the king said.

"Yes, alone," the troll replied. He waddled over on his short legs and grabbed Robin's hand with his own. His skin was as cool and unyielding as stone, and he led her away from the king and his men.

"Much better," he said once they were out of earshot. "Now then, let's get down to business. The princess struck you with her magic, didn't she?"

"Yes," Robin said.

"Where did she hit you?"

"In the back. Why do you want to know?" Robin asked warily.

"Because while it's true that it would eventually wear off on its own, you will be much more comfortable without winter magic settling were it shouldn't." Robin cringed as he placed his hand on her back where Princess Elsa's magic struck, but unlike Gerda's accidental touch the night before, it did not hurt. There was a strange tugging sensation, and Robin felt the cold melt away, leaving a pleasant warmth in its place.

Robin took a deep breath and nearly laughed when it didn't hurt at all. "You healed me," she said in wonder. "How? I thought only Princess Elsa could do something like that."

The troll's eyes twinkled and he showed her were a bench was farther up the path. "If I told one of my secrets every time someone asked, I wouldn't have any left. Come, we have much to discuss."

"You're not afraid I'll run away?" Robin asked.

"You can certainly try."

There was a note of warning in his voice, and Robin decided not to test him. She sat on the bench while he perched himself underneath a nearby tree. "I'm sorry, I know you're a troll, but I don't know what I'm supposed to call you."

"Your kind call me Pabbie."

"Okay…Pabbie," Robin said. "I do have questions, but…but I'm not sure where I'm supposed to start."

"The beginning is usually wisest," the troll said simply.

"I don't know where the beginning is anymore," Robin admitted, "but I promised the king I would tell him who I am today, only he won't believe me. I know he won't."

"Is the truth really that unbelievable?" Pabbie asked.

"Sometimes I can't believe it myself." She looked at him desperately. "You know strong magic. Princess Anna says you can even see the future. Can you help me get back? Can you send me to the West Blue?"

The troll blinked slowly and leaned forward. The strange power in his eyes was back, and Robin looked away to keep from feeling it again. There was a long, drawn out silence. The wind rustled through the leaves of the trees, water lapped gently against the rocks, and finally the Elder Troll spoke.

"Before I answer any of your questions, I must ask a few of my own: What _are_ you, Nico Robin, and why are you here?"

* * *

Agdar paced back and forth as he waited for the Elder Troll to return with Robin. He felt immensely foolish for forgetting the offense iron would be to one of the fair folk, and was eager to finally hear Robin's story from her own mouth. If only he knew what they were talking about…

His men waited in various states of alertness. None of them had ever seen a troll before, and several whispered anxiously amongst themselves. Agdar wished they would do so more quietly, but wasn't bothered enough to stop them. It wasn't every day one saw a talking stone.

Suddenly one of the guards stiffened. "Sire, I think you might want to see this."

"What is it?" Agdar asked as he turned around. His eyes followed the man's gaze, and he felt the blood drain from his face.

His girls. His precious, beautiful, _disobedient _girls were walking up to the group, bold as brass.

Idun was going to murder him.

"Papa, we have a grievance with you!" Anna proclaimed when she saw he was looking.

Agdar nearly swallowed his tongue. "What?"

"What Anna means to say is I need to talk to the trolls," Elsa said. She, at least, had the decency to look embarrassed. "I remembered something about what they said, and it doesn't make any sense. I need to make sure I understood correctly."

"You can't be out here," Agdar said, grabbing them both by the arm and pulling them aside. In a low hiss he continued, "Does your mother know what you're doing?"

"Well, er, not exactly…"

"No she doesn't!" Anna exclaimed. "Because we knew she'd say no."

Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose. "_Anna_…"

"You are both in deep trouble," Agdar said. "I don't know what possessed you to try this stunt or how you pulled it off, but you are going to march right back into that castle and go to your rooms. I will deal with you later."

"But Papa…_mrgh_!" Anna's protest was cut off as Elsa clasped her hand over her mouth.

"This might be my only chance to understand my magic, and I can't let it pass," she said urgently. "The trolls said that fear would be my enemy, but no matter how hard I try I can't conceal it. I can't keep doing this, Papa, so please, let me talk to the trolls." A confused expression crossed Elsa's face, and she looked down at her sister. "Did you just lick my glove?"

"Maybe."

"Be that as it may," Agdar said, closing his eyes to keep his frustration from showing, "you had no business bringing your sister into this."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Anna said. "I want to talk to them too. They made me forget Elsa's magic, and I want to know why."

"Girls...I agree that these are important things that need to be discussed, but now is not the time. Get back to the castle before your mother finds out…"

"Before I find out what?" Idun said coldly. Agdar looked up to see his wife standing at the castle door with her hands on her hips. He bit back a groan.

"Hello, dear, I thought you would be catching up on some administration work," he said.

"I was, until Celia found me and said these two managed to give her the slip. _Again_. Honestly, I don't know what's wrong with her, not being able to keep up with two children."

"It's not her fault," Anna said. "Elsa used her magic to make a slide out of the top floor."

Elsa buried her face in her hands. "Why would you say that?"

"You did what?" Agdar exclaimed at the same time.

"Wait, that was a secret, wasn't it?"

Elsa didn't dignify her sister with a response and Agdar turned and ran his fingers through his hair. Children! Why could they not do as they were told? He caught a few of his guardsmen smiling at the exchanged, and Agdar cut them off with a cold glare. Finally he was in control of himself enough to face his daughters again.

"Enough. Neither of you should be out here, and you're sorely mistaken if you think I'm going to reward your disobedience by giving you what you want. Go with your mother and go to your rooms. I walk talk with you when I'm done here."

"No, let them stay!"

Agdar turned again. Robin and the Elder Troll had returned and were standing in the middle of the flagstone path. There was a surge of empathy when the king saw the cut above her eyebrow and the dark circles under her eyes. But she was standing straighter than she had earlier in the morning, and when she spoke, her voice was as strong as he had ever heard it to be.

"I'm ready now, Your Highness. Princess Elsa and Princess Anna deserve an explanation just as much as you do, and I'd prefer only to have to tell it once."

Agdar glanced at the Elder Troll. He nodded slightly, and a small frown graced the king's features. With a silent apology to his wife, he put his hands on his daughter's shoulders and led them forward.

"Very well. We'll listen to what you have to say."

* * *

**AN**: To the anonymous reviewer Star:

Based on your blatant disregard for the basics of the English language, I am forced to assume you are a troll, but unlike the trolls in Frozen, you are not helpful in the slightest and really don't seem to know what you're talking about. I would prefer to respond to you privately, but since you've hidden yourself behind the veil of anonymity that's impossible. I probably shouldn't respond at all, but despite the insubstantial nature of your review, you bring up a few points I feel obligated to address.

_**wats wid u guys n wantin to spill d beans abt d protagonists origins?**_

First things first, I am writing _Outcast _by myself. I have no beta and no cowriters, so whatever flaws there are in the story, they are mine and mine alone.

Secondly, it is of the utmost importance that the king finds out who Robin really is. If you look at it from his point of view, a little girl broke into his castle and after a few days of acting perfectly normal used strange "magic" to break one of his guardsmen's elbows. Almost everything Agdar thought he knew about Robin was a lie. He has reason to believe she's been abused, she uses a foreign language for her spells, and—most shocking of all—has complete control over her power.

Magic seems to be relatively rare in the Frozen universe. It can't be overlooked that there was no one who could teach Elsa, and seemingly no books that they consult to help understand her power. I'm one of those weirdos who likes to place all Disney movies in the same universe whenever possible, and when you look at the Disney canon from a broader standpoint, several antagonists have been able to use magic (Ursula, Madam Mim, Maleficent, Jafar, Dr. Facilier, the Evil Queen, the Horned King, Yzma, maybe Mother Grothel) and very few protagonists (Elsa, Kida, and Rapunzel—with the latter two's power brought about by outside forces). Of the secondary characters with magic (Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the Enchantress, Grandmother Willow, Genie, the trolls, the Blue Fairy, Tinkerbell, Merlin, etc.) the vast majority aren't even human.

The Duke of Wesleton proves that to a certain extent magic is feared in the Frozen universe, and rightfully so, as over the course of the movie Elsa basically freezes her entire country and creates sentient beings by _accident_. The king has no idea Robin's true power or where she learned it, and not only has to consider his family's safety but the security of his entire country. Until Robin tells the truth, she is a threat to both.

_**would it kill u to utilize robin's intelligence to formulate a convincing story?**_

I wish there were another way to say this, but this complaint is vague to the point of uselessness. I know that the story isn't perfect, but you're going to have to be a little more specific.

Also, Robin is eleven years old. Yes, she's highly intelligent, but she doesn't have the same experience she would if she were older. She's been transported to a world that runs on Disney-logic, which is vastly different than what she's used to in the world of One Piece. She's bound to be confused and make mistakes.

Pro-tip: Saying "your story sucks" does not constitute constructive criticism

Amateur-tip: If you can't be bothered to spell out the word "you", I can't be bothered to take what you have to say seriously.


	25. The Truth Comes Out

Four pairs of piercing blue eyes stared at her, and Robin took a deep, steadying breath. The Ender Troll gave an encouraging nod, bolstering her resolve. She had to do this. There was no other choice.

"Before I start, would it be okay if we went someplace else?" Robin asked.

The king tilted his head. "Why?"

"It's just, well, it's kind of a long story." Robin glanced at the guardsmen who had escorted her from her cell. It would be hard enough telling the royal family the truth, and she actually knew them. She didn't want these strangers hearing who she really was. "I think it would be best if I told it to you and your family alone, Your Highness."

Their reaction was predictable. The leader bristled. "Absolutely not! You just want a chance to use your magic to escape!"

Robin looked back to the king and waited for his verdict. He rubbed his chin as he thought.

"What do you suppose, Idun?" he asked.

"The Elder Troll would still be here, presuming he would be willing to stop Robin if the need arose?"

"I would," Pabbie said.

"Then it's settled. Men, wait for us inside. We shall return once we finish our business here."

There were some grumbles of discontent as the guards did as they were commanded, but not nearly as many as Robin expected. They must trust in the troll's ability. As the guards shuffled past, the older princess shot Robin a glare, its intent clear: She would make Robin pay if she caused any funny business.

Robin met that gaze easily. She had no intention of provoking the princess today.

"Is there anything else to take care of before we begin?" the king asked when they were alone.

Robin shook her head. "No, I'm ready now, I promise."

Except she really wasn't. Her whole story was tangled into such a giant mess she hardly knew where to start.

"I-I suppose the first thing I need to explain is where I'm from. It's not Arendelle." She paused, gauging their reaction.

"We guessed that much ourselves," the queen said. She had one arm wrapped protectively around Anna's shoulder. When the younger girl caught Robin's eye, she offered a small smile.

The princess had no idea how much strength Robin took from that.

"Well, it's not anywhere on the continent either," Robin said. "Or any of the maps I saw when I came to the city. I was born on a small island called Ohara in an ocean called the West Blue. I was still in the West until a few weeks ago, when a man used what you would call magic and banished me to the forest where Princess Anna found me."

"Ohara? West Blue?" the king shook his head in disbelief. "Such places don't exist. If this is a joke, it is a poor one."

"You're right, they don't exist. And where I'm from, neither does Arendelle." Robin took another deep breath and forced herself to look at the king. "What I'm trying to say, Your Highness, is that I'm from another world."

* * *

"Another…world?" Agdar repeated the words, not believing them even as he spoke. He stared at the Elder Troll. "This is the most outrageous thing I've ever heard in my life."

"And yet," he replied in a smooth, steady voice, "she is not lying."

Silence fell over the clearing. No one in knew quite what to say, and Robin seemed to be waiting for permission before continuing with her ridiculous tale.

"Not lying isn't the same thing as telling the truth," Agdar said, grasping at straws. "Perhaps she's been bewitched, or tricked, or, or…" Agdar trailed off when the troll shook his head.

"I checked, Your Highness. The only magic I sensed was Princess Elsa's and some residual from the protections of her prison."

And if someone was able to charm a person with magic subtle enough to fool the Elder Troll, Arendelle had greater problems on its hands than trying to tease apart the delusions of a young girl.

"Are you even _human_?" the king asked Robin.

"I am," she said, perhaps a little testily. "I'm just…not from here."

"Then perhaps you could tell us more about your…world," Idun said. The color had left her cheeks, and she kept a strong grip on Anna. "You called it Ohara, did you not?"

Robin nodded, almost to herself, and her shoulders curled in defensively. "I'm from Ohara, but I don't live there anymore," she said quietly. "I haven't since I was eight."

"What happened then?"

She closed her eyes as if she were in pain, and didn't answer.

"Robin, you must tell us. What happened when you were eight years old?" Agdar asked.

The question roused her, and Robin lifted her head. She looked at each of the members of the royal family in turn, settling last of all on Anna. There was grief in her deep brown eyes, a look of loss and loneliness that made her appear much older than her eleven years.

"It was destroyed. I'm the only one left."

* * *

Elsa didn't know what to think. On one hand, what Robin was claiming was impossible. Other worlds didn't_ exist_. Sure, there were philosophers who argued over the reality of spiritual and magical realms that lay beyond the human senses, but they were still a part of the understood nature of the universe. Reasonable people could claim they had seen angles or visited the Fairy Courts. They might be lying charlatans, but the possibility that they were telling the truth was there. What Robin said was nothing short of madness.

On the other hand, she wasn't lying. Fairies sniffed out falsehoods better than a bloodhound, and they wouldn't stand for dishonesty. Unless Robin was somehow managing to dupe one of the strongest fairies in Arendelle, she had to be telling what she believed to be the truth.

Elsa wasn't alone in her confusion. After Robin's last proclamation, Father seemed to have temporarily lost his ability to speak.

"And after your island was destroyed, what did you do?" Mother asked in his place. "Did you have family to take you in?"

"I didn't have any family. I stayed with an old woman for a while, but…but I had to run away." Robin hugged herself as she recalled the apparently unpleasant memory. "I had to run from a lot of people, and eventually had to become a criminal to survive. The marines—similar to your navy, I guess—were who found me in the end. They're who sent me here."

"Then who taught you magic?" Elsa asked.

"It's not magic," Robin said reflexively. Once again met with blank stares, she turned to the Elder Troll. "I'm not doing this right. It's too muddled."

"You're doing fine. Keep going," he placated.

Robin's eyebrows drew together skeptically, but she continued, "There's no such thing as magic where I'm from. Instead there are fruits that grant a specific power once ingested. When I was very young, I ate the Flower-Flower Fruit, which lets me grow duplicate body parts."

She raised her arm and three copies sprung from her elbow, causing Elsa jumped in surprise. Even the Elder Troll appeared interested in the display of power.

"You said 'body parts'," Father began numbly, staring slack-jawed at the girl in front of him. "Does that mean…?"

Robin nodded. With a few whispered words, she made an _eyeball _grow in the palm of each hand.

"Sweet merciful God," Father swore, his complexion turning a delicate shade of green. "And you say that's not magic?"

"Of course not." Robin lowered her arm and the extras all disappeared, dissipating into what looked to be petals. These, too, vanished before they touched the ground, leaving behind no trace of her power.

Elsa took a step back, horrified and confused and curious all at the same time. One thing was certain: Robin's ability was no curse. A curse would never grant someone such perfect control over such an awesome ability.

Before, Elsa had been afraid of Robin because she didn't know or trust the mysterious girl. Now that she was starting to understand, Elsa feared what Robin was truly capable of if she put her mind to it.

* * *

After Robin made her extra arms vanish, Idun had to struggle to keep Anna from squirming away from her grasp. She could hardly believe what she was hearing and seeing, but she couldn't deny it. Robin was from another realm, different from the reality that Idun knew.

Slowly the pieces were coming together into a coherent whole.

"So you were sent here," Idun said slowly. "Do you know why?"

"No," Robin said. "I'm not even sure the marine who did it knows."

"I see. And why did you break into the library?"

A faint blush crept up her cheeks. "I thought that there might be something to help me get back, but I can't read runes."

"So you _do _want to go back?" Idun asked, eyebrows raising.

"Yes!" Robin exclaimed. "I have to! I'm the only one who _can. _I have to read the poneglyphs and find the True History. If I can't then they died for nothing." Her voice cracked as she began to pace.

"I'm the only archeologist left. There's no one else in the world who can read the Ancient Language, and it's forbidden by the World Government to study the Void Century. If I can't get back then they'll be forgotten, and that can't happen. That's worse than death. It's oblivion."

Ancient Language, World Government, Void Century. The terms that were obviously important to Robin were meaningless to the queen's ears. The girl was working herself into a state, becoming increasingly agitated with every word she spoke.

Anna tore herself from her mother's grasp. Before Idun knew what was happening, her youngest was standing in front of Robin, holding the older girl's arms against her side and looking her in the eye.

The action startled Robin, and a frantic expression passed across her face. For a moment Idun was scared for her daughter.

Anna only smiled. "You'll be okay. We'll help you get home."

Robin's face crumpled, and tears began streaking down her face.

"I don't think I have one anymore."

* * *

Anna knew there was a lot of things she didn't understand. Elsa was smarter than she could ever hope to be, and under Mama and Papa's rule, Arendelle had flourished as a prosperous and happy country in a way Anna knew she could never replicate.

But there was one thing she did know, and that was that Robin was hurting. She had been hurting for a long time with no one to talk to. Anna understood that; she had experienced that herself. All the talk of glyphs and powers that were not magic went over her head, but there was something Anna could do that no one else seemed capable of or willing to try.

"You don't have a home because of your curse?" Anna asked softly.

"It's not really a curse," Robin said, wiping her eyes in irritation. "Well, not unless you count my Devil Fruit."

"Then why?"

"I'm wanted. People think I sunk five battleships and murdered a vice-admiral. I didn't!" she insisted, looking at the Elder Troll for confirmation. "But everyone thinks I did. I'm…I'm a _pirate_," Robin said in a broken whisper so quiet Anna nearly didn't hear.

Anna paused, considering what to do with this new information. Pirates certainly were bad people, and Robin had done a bad thing when she hurt the guardsman yesterday.

At the same time, Robin was hurting. She had lost her home and her family and was burdened with a task so monumental that Anna could scarcely comprehend the scope of it. Robin was lonely, and she was afraid, and she could never learn from her mistakes if she wasn't given a chance.

"I don't care if you're a pirate," Anna declared, making sure to say it loudly enough her entire family heard. "I'm still your friend."

Robin's tear-stained eyes widened, and behind her Anna heard her sister gasp softly. Papa sputtered something incomprehensible, and Mama sighed.

"The truth comes out at last," the Elder Troll said contentedly. "And now it is possible to move forward."

Anna could only grin in response.

* * *

**AN**: And thus, Anna becomes Robin's Arendelle equivalent to Luffy.

As always, reviews are appreciated.


	26. Back to Square One

Robin could hardly hear anything over the pounding pulse in her ears. A monumental weight was lifted from her shoulders, and she felt like she would float off of the ground.

She had done it. The Arendelle royal family knew her secrets. Just thinking it seemed unbelievable, but what was more unbelievable was their response. The king, queen, and older princess were understandably skeptical, but they didn't call her a liar or a demon or anything like that at all. And Anna! Anna's reaction was the most amazing of them all.

It had been a very long time since Robin had had a friend. Thinking of Anna's infectious laugh, Robin thought Saul would approve.

"So let me get this straight," the king was saying, drawing Robin from her reverie. "You're from another…another world." He almost choked on the word, and Robin nodded. "Where you are a _pirate_?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I needed the protection."

His lips pursed together into a nearly invisible line. "And a soldier…"

"Marine," Robin said.

"Yes, yes, a marine used used magic…"

"Devil Fruit," Robin corrected.

"_..._to send you to Arendelle."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And you want to go back?" he asked, raking his fingers through his hair.

"I have to," Robin said. "Otherwise everything my mother and teachers died for would be for nothing."

The king turned to Pabbie. "And she's not lying?" The troll affirmed his statement, and the king rubbed his forehead, seemingly bewildered. Robin almost felt sorry for him.

After taking a moment to collect himself, the king addressed Robin once more. "Well, you were right about one thing. I wouldn't have believed you. Good Lord, what a mess." He glanced at his wife. She was slightly more composed, but it was obvious she was troubled as well. "I think I need to hear more before I make a decision."

"What else is there to hear?" Anna asked, crossing her arms across her chest. "Of course we have to help Robin get back."

"_Anna_," Princess Elsa said softly, shaking her head. The older princess had been staring at Robin with the strangest look in her eyes ever since she showed off her Devil Fruit power, but so far had managed to keep her own magic under control. "It's not that simple."

"Why not?" Anna said hotly.

"Girls, why don't we let your father talk to Robin in private," the queen said, gathering her children and ushering them to another part of the garden. "You had questions for the Elder Troll, did you not?"

"But doesn't he have to be here with Robin?"

"That was only so we could make sure she was being truthful," the queen explained. "Now that that is determined…well, I think now would be the best time to address your grievances, don't you, Anna?"

The younger girl grumbled something under her breath, but did not argue. Robin watched them go farther down the path, irrational anxiety twisting through her stomach. With Pabbie gone, there was no way the king would try anything underhanded, but three years of instinct was telling her that she shouldn't be alone with such a powerful man now that he knew who she was.

"I'll be back soon!" Anna called, looking back and at Robin with a grin as her mother led her away. Robin returned the gesture with a small nod, unable to find the words to express her gratitude.

The king cleared his throat, and Robin turned her attention back to him. "She's young," he said, having regained some of his wits. "She doesn't understand yet that certain actions have consequences."

Robin stiffened, wondering if she hadn't misjudged him after all.

"For example," the king continued, either not noticing or not caring about her reaction, "I'm not sure I can, in good conscience, send a child back to a situation where she is so obviously in danger for her life."

"I'm eleven," Robin said defensively.

"A child," the king repeated firmly. His eyes softened. "Robin, girls your age should be concerned with dresses and playing with their friends, not going out to sea as a _pirate_. Even if I knew how to send you back—which I do not—why would I want to? You apparently have no family, no home. There are people who believe you've committed _murder_."

Robin's breath hitched. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that the king would refuse to help her for her own safety. "But…"

"Gerda told me about those bruises," the king said, cutting her off. "You've been beaten, haven't you? People have tried to harm you?"

"Yes, but…"

"I told you the day we met, it is my duty as king to protect the people of Arendelle. You might not be a citizen, but you're here now, and I am responsible for your care." The king looked at her seriously. "You would be safe here."

"You can't do that," Robin said numbly. "You don't understand, I…I _have _to go back."

"Then teach me. Why are you so set on returning to a place that wants you dead?"

It was like the king had thrust a knife into her heart. Any of the giddy relief that she felt only minutes ago was gone, and again her vision misted over. Robin forced the tears away. She had cried entirely too much lately, and the king already thought she was a child.

"It's a long story," Robin said, her voice thick with emotion. "I've never told anyone before."

The king led her to a nearby bench and sat down. He patted the space next to him, and Robin did the same. Her throat constricted as she realized the implications of a member of royalty—even one as kind as the king—treating her with such an informal manner.

"We have time, and I would be honored to be the first."

* * *

Elsa resisted the urge to sneak looks back to where Father and Robin were sitting. She was dreadfully curious, wishing she could hear what they were talking about. She felt as restless as Anna looked, barely managing to bear down on her power enough to keep from trailing frost as she walked along the garden path.

Elsa wasn't sure if she could have done that a few weeks ago, or even a few days ago. Since the disastrous confrontation with Robin, her power had been suspiciously cooperative. It still sought to escape unbidden, but the never-ending struggle did not preoccupy Elsa's thoughts as it usually did. Even making the ice slide to escape the castle had been—dare she say it?—_easy. _

She flexed her hands as she remembered the sensation of magic flowing from the core of her being down through her fingertips, for once molding the ice voluntarily into the shape she wanted. After she and her sister descended, Elsa was able undo the spell the same way she had in the library and her room, the difference being that this time she did not require a pep-talk to accomplish the task.

It felt good, natural even, and Elsa couldn't figure out why her magic could not be so accommodating all of the time.

"I believe this is far enough," the Elder Troll said, breaking through her thoughts. "We can talk here."

Mother nodded, almost to herself, and glanced back the way they came.

"There is no danger, Your Highness," the troll said. "The girl's only desire is to return where she belongs."

She did not respond, but a tiny frown graced her features. Suddenly uncomfortable, Elsa tucked her hands under her armpits. It seemed perfectly reasonable not to trust a dangerous magic user who admitted to piracy, but at the same time Elsa and Robin were of the same mind: The sooner Robin was gone the better.

Anna had no such reservations. "You can help, can't you?" she asked.

The Elder Troll hummed noncommittedly. "We can discuss Robin's options at a later time. I believe you had questions?"

"Yes!" Anna exclaimed. "Four years ago you made me forget. I want to know why."

"You think I had dishonorable intentions?"

"Well, it wasn't very nice," Anna said.

"Anna!" Mother admonished.

"No, no, no, it's quite all right," the Elder Troll said. "I appreciate your candor, Princess. But first, let me ask, why _do _you think I placed the spell on you that night?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking," Anna said, looking cross.

"Humor me."

"You didn't want me to know about Elsa's magic," Anna said. "No one did, because even after I was healed no one told me."

"And tell me, Princess Anna, what remained?" the Elder Troll asked.

"You replaced the magic with other stuff," Anna said, a perplexed look filtering across her face. "Wait, I remember now. You said you were going to keep the fun. That doesn't make sense."

"The intent was never to keep you separated forever," Mother said quietly. "But Elsa had to learn how to control her power, and when the two of you were together…We feared the temptation would be too much."

"Wait, what?" Anna said.

"When you played…" Mother's voice trailed off, and she smiled ruefully. "Even if you _weren't _playing, Elsa would use her magic when you were together."

"You're saying it's my fault?" Anna said, eyes widening in horror.

"No!" Elsa exclaimed. "I'm the one who couldn't keep in control. I couldn't—" Elsa was cut off as her mother placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"It was nobody's fault," Mother said. "You were just being girls, and the night Elsa struck you was nothing more than an unfortunate accident. But you must understand, Anna, your sister's magic is powerful, and it can be dangerous. If not for the troll's intervention…I don't know what would have happened."

"Fine, but that doesn't mean I couldn't ever be with Elsa," Anna said. She looked less sure now, and glanced at her sister. "You didn't want to be by yourself."

She didn't phrase it as a question, but Elsa found herself nodding anyway.

"See?" Anna said. "Elsa doesn't have to be locked up in her room to learn about magic. That's just stupid. It's like what Papa tells me with my lessons: Practice makes perfect. Elsa can't learn if she's not allowed to try."

"It's not like I'm learning how to dance," Elsa said, frustration creeping in and loosening the lock that held her magic at bay. Elsa could see a gleam in her sister's eye, like she had caught hold of an idea, and wasn't going to let go no matter the consequences. There had to be a way to explain to her sister in a way that she would understand.

"My power reacts to my emotions," Elsa said. "You've seen that. I can't stop it if I'm feeling scared or mad. I don't need practice, I need to know how to conceal what I feel. Right?" Elsa asked, turning to the Elder Troll for affirmation.

He tilted his head and blinked, once, then twice. "Hmm, it is a difficult question. If you were cursed, then the answer would be simple enough, but your magic is a part of you. You might be able to hide from it for a short time, but in the end it is unescapable."

"Then it's hopeless," Elsa said leadenly. "I-I can't hold it back. It's too strong for me to fight all the time."

The Elder Troll only smiled. "Oh, how quickly you humans forget."

"What do you mean?"

"Princess Elsa, are you upset now?"

"Of course I am," Elsa said. "You just told me that no matter how hard I try, there's no way for me to control my magic."

"And yet, you are," he said. He led his hands in the air and looked around the garden. "I see no snow, no ice, no wind."

Elsa opened her mouth to argue, but then she processed his words. The fear was still there, along with the frustration and the anxiety. But something was different. It was still muggy and uncomfortably warm, with hardly a breeze to stir the air after last night's storm. There was no hint of Winter, no feeling like she was going to lose control.

"But how?" she whispered.

"Fear will always be your greatest enemy, the curse that haunts you all your days," the Elder Troll said kindly, "but it seems like you're well on your way to overcoming it. The answer you seek has always been with you. I think you're just starting to learn that, aren't you?"

"Fear is…my curse?" Elsa said, eyebrows knitting together.

"Not in the traditional sense, of course, but we all have our burdens we must bear." His ears twitched, and the Elder Troll looked to where Father was with Robin. "Ah, I think the king is ready for our presence once again."

"Wait, I still don't understand!" Elsa said.

The troll regarded her carefully. Bright blue eyes met black, and for a moment Elsa was mesmerized. There were terrible and dark secrets hidden behind those eyes, an understanding of the universe and the powers that governed it that was beyond her comprehension.

"If it were something I could teach, I would," the Elder Troll said. "But as you said to your sister, the control of your magic is not a skill to be learned. Your power is innate; it is as much a part of you as the blood that flows in your veins. You are beginning to understand this. Continue on as you are, and that understanding will only grow."

And with that, the Elder Troll left to rejoin her father. Elsa looked at her mother for an explanation, but none was forthcoming. Even Anna was momentarily dumbstruck.

"Well, I suppose we should follow," Mother finally said. "We can think about this more after we decide to do with Robin."

* * *

Agdar's mind was spinning with new information when he saw the Elder Troll approach, trailed by his wife and daughters. The tale Robin just told was almost more than he could process. He had no frame of reference to many of things the girl spoke of. A government that controlled the entire world? Entire centuries erased from history? Powers capable of destroying entire islands in a matter of hours? It was inconceivable. It was _mad_.

But it was also true. Agdar was certain of it.

And Robin wanted to return to that hellacious existence. She had gone so far as to say that if he did not help her, she would go to someone who would. _That _frightened the king, because there was a not-insignificant part of him that believed her.

"Your Highness," the Elder Troll said, sweeping into a deep bow.

"Have you decided to help Robin yet?" Anna asked.

"Not yet," Agdar said. Beside him, Robin bristled and his youngest was indignant. The king held his hand up for silence. "I didn't say I won't, but it would be unwise to hurry into a decision. And I…I would like to talk to my wife."

Idun looked a little surprised, and that hurt. Surely she didn't think he wouldn't need her council at such a time as this?

"Please, Your Highness, I have to get back," Robin said. Her tone was as close to begging as he had heard it, but he shook his head.

"Do you know how you would manage to return to your world?" he asked.

"No. I hoped the trolls could help," Robin said.

"Your thoughts?" Agdar said, addressing the Elder Troll.

He took a deep breath that was nearly a sigh. "I knew Robin was different the moment I laid eyes on her. Certain magic affects her, as seen by Princess Elsa, but her future is beyond my Sight. I suspect it is because she is not of this reality."

Dismay flashed across Robin's face, quickly with a stoic mask.

"At the same time, her ability is not magic, at least not magic as I know it," the troll continued. "I don't know how to reverse the spell that sent you here."

Had Anna received such a proclamation, she would have fought and screamed against it with all her strength. Elsa would have retreated within herself and quite possibly frozen the speaker by complete accident.

Robin only closed her eyes in a pained expression and took a single, deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, there was no sign of any emotion, only a callous determination to achieve her goal no matter the cost.

"Then you can't help me," she said, her tone dead.

"Do not lose heart. There are sources I can explore, magics old enough even I have forgotten about them. There may even be answers in the library, just as you originally thought."

"You must be patient for a little while yet," Agdar said. "You have been here this long already. A little longer won't hurt."

It might have been his imagination, but the king thought he saw Robin soften. She nodded, gaze settled on her shoes. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Then I must return to the mountain and see if I can't untangle this mystery," the Elder Troll said. He looked at Elsa. "It is possible. You mustn't give up hope."

"I-I'll try to do as you've said," Elsa replied.

"Good." He turned to Anna. "Your courage and loyalty serve you well. Do not let it blind you to the truth."

"Wait, what?"

Without further explanation, he walked over to Robin and with one stone hand cupped her chin, gently raising her head. "Do not despair. This is not the end."

"How do you know?" Robin whispered.

"I know. All magic can be undone, every curse broken. It is a truth that crosses even worlds."

The Elder Troll wiped away a tear with his thumb before bowing to both Agdar and his wife. "I will see what I can find," he said, "until then, I bid you farewell."

"Thank you," Agdar said. The troll nodded, and rolled back into a boulder and rolling away.

A feeling of helplessness washed over the king as he watched the Elder Troll disappear into the wilderness. He finally had the truth, but for some reason it felt like he was no closer to the answers he was seeking.


	27. Transitions

"Let's go back inside," Agdar said. "Girls, I want you to go to your rooms until lunchtime."

"What?" Anna exclaimed. "Why?"

"Because you disobeyed your mother and me by coming out here without permission," the king said. "I understand your reasoning, but when you are told to do something, I expect you to do it."

"That's not fair!"

"It is more than fair. You knew what you were doing was wrong, otherwise you wouldn't have felt the need to sneak out of the castle using Elsa's magic." Agdar cut of his daughter's protests with a raised hand. "My mind's made up, and if you don't want the grounding to be longer, you'll do as you're told."

"But…" Seeing that there would be no compromise, Anna's shoulders slumped. "Can I play with Elsa and Robin after lunch?"

"We'll see," Agdar allowed. Leaning down, he hugged his daughter. "Now go along. You've got plenty of ways to entertain yourself for a few hours."

"It seems all I do is entertain myself," she said under her breath before obediently trotting off. Agdar pressed his lips together but let the comment slide. Beside him, Elsa shifted from foot to foot nervously.

"Can I talk to you?" Elsa asked. "Alone?"

Agdar glanced to his wife. "Do you think you can take care of Robin for a few moments? I don't expect the guards will be pleased to see her running free."

"Of course," Idun said. She offered Robin a hesitant smile. "This way, dear. We'll get things settled again."

Robin flinched at the term of endearment, but let herself be led back into the castle. That left Agdar alone in the gardens with Elsa. His eldest watched Robin walk away with worried eyes.

"She's staying with us, isn't she?" Elsa asked.

"For the time being," the king said.

She made an unhappy noise, but whatever her problems were with the other-worldly girl, she did not voice them. "I talked with the Elder Troll."

"Yes?"

"I think I need to start practicing with my power."

"Did he say that?" the king asked carefully.

Elsa wrung her hands together. "Not…exactly, but he said I can't hide from it." She looked away from him. "It's who I am."

The king ran his hand through his hair. He didn't like it, not one bit. Elsa's magic was dangerous, unpredictable. If the general population found out that the heir-apparent could use magic…there was no telling what would happen. Magic was perfectly legal in Arendelle, so long as a practitioner obeyed the laws regarding it and was careful with their experiments.

But general consensus was something else entirely. Magic was regarded with the greatest suspicion. Evil wizards and rogue witches made popular boogeymen, and a large portion of the population feared the power a malicious mage wielded.

This reaction drove those with magic to the fringes of society. Magicians were a rare and secretive bunch, and Elsa's power defied what little the king knew of them. She did not have to study arcane books to learn new spells. Elsa had been born with a power that grew in strength as she did, a phenomenon so rare that Agdar had to turn to old wives' tales to explain it.

No, no matter what the Elder Troll said, Elsa couldn't use her power in the open. It was too risky.

Agdar must not have been able to hide his displeasure entirely, because Elsa continued to argue. "I can't cover up what I feel. It's impossible. The Elder Troll said there's a way for me to control my magic _despite _my feelings."

"The gloves have worked this long," Agdar said. "I know you're improving. With a little more time…"

"I could have killed someone yesterday!" Elsa exclaimed. "I never wanted to hurt her. Never." She held up her hands and looked at them in disgust. "How is what I did to Robin any better than what she did to the guardsman? Who will I strike the next time I lose control, you? Mother? Anna?"

"You can't think that way, Elsa," Agdar said gently. "You'll only upset yourself."

She clenched her hands into fists. "It's the truth," she said, her voice hollow. "Father…Papa…I need help if I'm to do this. I don't have the strength to try by myself."

She was frightened, Agdar could see that, but there was determination there as well. That was the very definition of courage, wasn't it? To continue on despite one's fears?

Maybe he needed to do the same.

"Let me think about it," Agdar said. "There's no need to rush into this without considering all the variables. There are some logistical issues that need to be worked through."

Elsa's whole body relaxed. "Thank you, Father." She gave him a reserved smile. "I should go to my room now, I suppose."

"We'll talk more later," the king promised. "And Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"You're never alone. Never forget that."

* * *

Robin was more than happy to let the queen explain that, yes, she was no longer a prisoner, and no, there was no need for her to be in chains, and yes, the king knew and approved of this change, and…and…

Robin only half-listened to the back and forth between the queen and the guards, her mind elsewhere. Pabbie had promised to look into possible ways back home, but Robin wasn't going to put her trust in him finding anything useful. The only one she could truly depend on was herself. The king's well-intentioned but ultimately misguided concern for her safety meant she would not get any help from that quarter. Anna was on her side, but the young princess did not know anything that would be of any assistance.

So what could she do? The library _was_ an option, and even if the king forbade her from studying, well, it wouldn't be the first time Robin researched something she wasn't supposed to. But the realization was slowly dawning on her that the key to returning home might not be found in Arendelle at all. It was quite possible she could search for years and years, exhausting every possible option, only to come up empty.

If that day came she had to be prepared to leave the royal family, permanently. She couldn't let herself be tied down by friendships or kindness or hospitality. Finding the True History, fulfilling the dream all of Ohara died for, was more important than anything, and Robin had to be ready to _do _anything to realize it.

Even if it meant abandoning those she had come to care for.

The thought abandoning the royal family made her heart feel like it was tearing in in two. The act of making a friend made Robin remember the pain of losing one, and she wasn't sure if she could bear it.

And if the thought of leaving Arendelle hurt this badly, what would she feel once she returned to her universe, where she was constantly hunted by marines and hated by the world?

"Ah, there you are. You're looking much better."

Gerda's voice cut through the destressing turn of Robin's thoughts, and she acknowledged the servant with a weak smile. "Yes, ma'am, much better. Thank you."

"Gerda, Robin will be returning to her old quarters," the queen said. "Do you think you could help her get settled in?"

The older woman was momentarily taken aback. "I would be more than happy to, Your Highness. Will there be any need for further…precautions?"

"No," the queen said, her voice carrying clear and loud over the protests of the guardsmen. "The events of last evening were a tragic mistake. I'm sure by now you're aware that when a magic user is frightened they don't always have the best control over their power. You have it on my honor that Robin is no threat."

Robin's head shot up. She had known exactly what she was doing when she hurt that guardsman, and to imply anything else was a bold-faced lie. Robin was trying to decide whether or not to correct the queen when she saw the woman give a barely perceptible shake of the head.

"Accidents happen, and I'm grateful no one was more seriously hurt," she said. "You all have performed admirably in the face of adversity, and are to be commended for it. You are free to return to your normal duties."

Oh. The queen was lying on purpose to protect her. Robin didn't quite know what to think about that, except that she was very grateful for the queen's foresight.

"That settles that, I suppose," Gerda said. She gave the queen a curious look. "Well, Robin, let's get you sorted out. Are you going to be staying with us for a while?"

"I think so," Robin replied.

"I expect you must be frightfully hot in that dress now that the trolls have had a look at you," Gerda mused. "Let's see if I can't fight something a little lighter for you to wear."

Robin trailed silently behind the old servant, overwhelmed by all the attention and more confused than ever.

* * *

After placating the guards, Idun found her husband in the front seats of the old chapel building. It was a building he seldom frequented; out of the two of them she was the more religious. But, she supposed, there was a time when even the most irreligious were forced to face the biggest of life's questions.

"What do you think the bishop would say if I told him we were housing a girl from another world?" he asked quietly as Idun took a seat next to him. Turning to look at her, Agdar offered her a humorless smile. "He's an easygoing enough fellow."

"You weren't considering it, were you?" Idun asked nervously.

"No, of course not. I think even he would be forced to cry heresy at the thought. But the Church does have resources on magic in their archives that I don't. There might come the day where we'll need to come up with an excuse to see them."

"Lying to the Church?" Idun said, eyebrows rising. "That seems a bit…drastic."

He closed his eyes and leaned back in the pew. "What do you think they would do to her, if they knew?"

"I don't know."

Agdar was silent for a long moment. "That child has seen more hardship than most men do in a lifetime. She says she's been wanted for an astronomical sum of money for three years now, for the crime of studying history. I don't understand it, Idun. I don't think I ever will, but I'm determined to protect her."

"She reminds you of Elsa, doesn't she?" Idun asked.

"In a way, but it's more than that." Agdar opened his eyes, and stared at the alter in front of the chapel. "Robin told me her very existence is considered a sin. I almost think she believes it."

"That's horrible."

"Her whole world sounds horrible," Agdar said, disgust clearly written on his face. "Her family has been murdered, her home destroyed, then she was forced into piracy after being framed for crimes she didn't commit."

"Are you going to help her get back?" Idun asked, eyebrows drawing together in concern.

Before he could answer, a messenger burst into the chapel. He hurried down the center aisle and bowed to the monarchs. "'Scuse the interruption, Your Highnesses, but I've been tasked to deliver a message, and was told to get it to do so as soon as possible."

"Who's it from?" Agdar asked.

"The Duke of Wesleton, if it pleases Your Highness," the messenger said, holding out a sealed letter.

With a frown, Agdar tore it open, eyes darting back and forth as he scanned its contents. His frown deepened with every line, until he handed it to his wife in irritation.

Idun read the letter, and could see the little man writing each sentence in his usual obnoxious manner.

"I thought the trade agreement was finalized," Idun said. "What more is there to discuss?"

"It _was_, short of the signatures that would make it official," Agdar said, moustache twitching in indignation. "I have no idea what he's trying to accomplish."

"He says he wishes to discuss matters in person," Idun said, looking once more at the letter, "and that he'll be in the area within the week. Did he just invite himself to the castle?"

Agdar let out a heavy breath. "I believe so. We need this agreement, Idun, and the Duke knows it. I don't have much choice to accommodate him."

"But…" Idun let herself trail off, glancing sidelong at the messenger. He was not one of the inner circle that knew of Elsa's power. To say the Duke disliked magic was an understatement, and now the castle was housing not one, but two magic users. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

"We'll make it work," Agdar said determinedly. "We have to."

Idun could only nod in agreement and hope that her husband was right.

* * *

**AN: **Many of the translations I've read have Robin or other characters state her "existence is a sin". I would be curious to know if any of the official translations actually use the word "sin" or they just say "crime" instead. It's my understanding that the Japanese language doesn't really have an equivalent to the English word "sin", the closest word being the term used for "crime".

The world of One Piece - despite the variety of cultures presented - is very much written with a Japanese worldview, so I'm going to say Robin would have a very different understanding of the phrase "your existence is a sin" than the royal family, as they are obviously from fantasy Europe.


	28. Time of Reflection

Once again, Gerda somehow managed to procure a dress for Robin seemingly out of thin air. The older woman left her alone in the bedroom she had occupied before being arrested to change out of her now-stifling clothes. Robin touched the soft, comfortable material, remembering the days when her aunt shouted at her for trying on her cousin's clothes.

The dress did not have the ordinate embroidery seen on the princess's clothing, but Robin considered it a luxury all the same. She had always promised herself that she would one day own a beautiful dress, but she had always figured that meant she would have to steal one for herself.

The garment in her hands could not be considered beautiful, but it was by far the highest quality clothing Robin could ever remember wearing. With a sudden eagerness, Robin stripped out of the winter dress as quickly as she was able.

Lifting her arms made a funny feeling shoot across her back, almost like something was pulling taunt. There was no pain, and Robin reached behind her and tried to touch her shoulder blade.

She couldn't quite reach, so Robin grew an arm. Phantom fingers pressed where Princess Elsa's magic had struck, and Robin let out a soft noise of surprise.

The skin where the magic struck her back was a few degrees cooler than the rest. It felt different as well: smooth as ice, and less supple than it should have been. With a small frown, Robin sprouted an eye in the palm of the extra hand.

The patch of skin where Princess Elsa's magic entered her body had been bleached white. The scar was about a two inches wide and looked like a starburst, or maybe an extremely deformed snowflake. Robin dismissed the eye and touched it again, a hollow pit forming in her stomach.

Her mind began running through situations where having such a distinctive scar would put her at a disadvantage. Robin pushed those thoughts away and changed into her new dress. It didn't matter if anyone saw if she couldn't get back to her world.

It did serve as a painful reminder that no matter what she did, Robin was helpless against such a terrible power. In her mind's eye, Robin saw Saul being frozen alive, and her she brought a hand to her chest as she remembered the bitter cold that could have killed her.

There was a soft knock at the door, startling Robin. "Are you all right in there?" Gerda asked.

"Coming," Robin called. She gave herself one last go over, adjusting a few nonexistent wrinkles as she marveled at the thought that _she _was wearing something so nice without even having to steal it.

Her back twinged in response, and suppressing a shudder Robin went into the hallway where Gerda was waiting for her.

* * *

For the first time in as long as she could remember, Elsa felt calm.

She had said her peace to her father and the Elder Troll both, and it felt like, _finally_, she was getting somewhere. Anna was once again talking to her, and not even the presence of Robin could sour the Elsa's content.

The feeling would not last, it never did, but Elsa treasured it nonetheless. She sat at the edge of her bed and looked at her room through new eyes. The bedroom was no longer the center of her self-imposed exile. The door was open, to let others in and herself out.

It was possible to be in control. If nothing else, the events of the morning proved that in Elsa's mind. Not only had she been able to shape her magic in the way she desired, but had kept it in check through distress. The only frustration was that Elsa could not figure out how she accomplished such a feat, and the Elder Troll seemed incapable of giving a straight answer.

But he said to continue as she was. The only thing Elsa could think was that the Elder Troll was referring to the fact that she was voluntarily using her power more often of late and that she should—as Anna so succinctly put it—practice.

The logic made sense. For years she had tried to control her magic by never using it and failed miserably, and Elsa had the best hold on her power when she was using it on a daily basis. In retrospect the correlation seemed obvious.

Elsa only fear was that while experimenting she would accidently hurt someone. It almost made her want to give up before she even began, but after nearly killing Robin, Elsa realized that it was only a matter of time until she hurt someone unless she got her magic under control.

And the solution felt so _right_. It was silly to base important decision based on one's feelings, but even now there was a spark of excitement in brainstorming different things she might try. Elsa had forgotten all of the different tricks and spells she used to do with such ease, but what she did remember was more than enough to stimulate idea after idea.

* * *

Anna sat on her bedroom floor, trying as hard as she could to remain quiet. It was a momentously difficult task, as she was full to bursting with excitement. In the past few days, not only had she managed to make a new friend, but that friend was from another _planet. _Anna was not quite sure which one, and made a mental note to ask Robin the next time they saw one another.

That was plenty to get worked up over, but inter-planetary travel only scratched the surface. Robin was a pirate with magic stranger than Elsa's (for no matter what Robin claimed, it was impossible to think of growing arms out of thin air as anything but magic).

It was almost too much for Anna to take in, but the young princess would have accepted just about anything if it meant being able to spend time with her friend again. The despair she felt after learning that Robin had attacked both her sister and hurt one of the guardsmen was a distant, fading memory. By nature Anna was not one to dwell in the past, and as far as she was concerned all was forgiven.

Anna knew she had to be on her best behavior if she was to get permission to play with Robin. The punishment rankled—because how else was she supposed to get to the bottom of the mystery that was Nico Robin?—but she bore the injustice in silence.

Or tried to, anyway. She spent some time playing with her dolls, but quickly grew bored without a second person to join in. Then she had flipped through one of her books, but that was even worse. With an exasperated sigh, Anna threw the book away and began to pace, restless energy welling within her.

Something on her desk caught her eye, and Anna picked up a pair of magnets, borrowed from her tutor after a lesson in magnetism. They had proved themselves to be a great amusement, and with a small giggle Anna tried to force like poles together, only for an invisible force to repel her efforts.

Anna then used one magnet to chase the other around her desk. When she was through she flipped the it over, and the magnet on the desk jumped to the one in her hand, the same force that drove them apart now bringing them together in an inseparable bond. Then she began the game anew.

Without the distraction of other people, a rarely-used portion of her mind began to stir, as Anna reflected on the morning's adventure. As much as she wished the visit with the Elder Troll had fixed everything, Anna knew that was not the case. Robin was still sad, Elsa still scared, and Papa still unsure.

The predicaments of Robin and Elsa, in particular, bothered her. She cared deeply for both her sister and her friend, but couldn't think of a single thing she could offer to help them. Elsa was incredibly intelligent, and Anna suspected Robin was as well. If they did not know what to do, what could she hope to accomplish?

Their problems were so big, and Anna was so small. She set the magnets down, and an uncharacteristic feeling of helplessness washed over her. Anna was a girl of action, and even if her plans did not always produce the intended result she stuck with them to the bitter end. Doing something—even if unsuccessful—was always preferable to giving up. Usually the path of action was clear, but not this time. Right now, Anna was just as lost as the rest of them.

"Princess Anna?" a servant said from the other side of the door. "It's time to eat."

"Be out in a little bit," Anna called back. She looked in the mirror and gave herself a quick once-over. Everything was the same as this morning, but at the same time Anna felt like something was very different indeed.

* * *

**AN:** Continuing on the thoughts of language from last time, the three dudes that hang around the castle during the eternal winter are casted as the French, German, and Spanish dignitaries, so I guess these countries exist in the Frozen universe? Anyway, in case there was any confusion, that's why I had the royal family recognize that Robin uses French when activating her DF.

As a side note, I am once again employed. I don't think it should affect the update speed too terribly much, but I make no promises.


	29. A Deal Struck

For the first time in as long as Anna could remember, lunch was fun.

Once again she sat between Elsa and Robin. Both were subdued, but Anna could have sworn she saw her sister smile as they settled in for the meal. Robin was more sullen, but that was understandable given the circumstances and she seemed more comfortable with her situation.

Anna watched out of the corner of her eye as Robin picked at her salmon. Perhaps _comfortable_ wasn't the best word to describe the change that Anna saw in her friend. Robin remained guarded, her shoulders curled and head bowed, but she no longer flinched when someone came too close. Her voice was naturally quiet, but there was no tremor of nerves when she did speak. She ate with in a stiff, almost mechanical way, but no longer seemed ready to bolt at the slightest provocation.

Maybe _settled _was the more accurate description. Yes, Anna mused as she chewed a piece of broccoli, Robin was settled.

Elsa, in contrast, was fully relaxed. Her posture and table manners were impeccable as always, but there was a newfound freedom in the way she carried herself. In addition to the rare-but-always-welcome smiles, Anna actually heard her sister laugh at one of her jokes.

She would have considered the meal a success based on that alone, but then Papa delivered his big news: The castle would be hosting the Duke of Weselton sometime in the near future.

Anna nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement. The doors to the castle had not been opened in _years_. The empty halls would be filled with real, living people who unlike the paintings in the gallery would actually respond when spoken to.

"How long will he be here?" Elsa asked, a tiny crease forming between her eyebrows.

Her father could only say that he didn't know, and that hopefully it would be short visit. Mama reminded them—eyes locking with Anna's for a shade longer than the rest—that everyone was expected to be on their best behavior.

To which Robin said that she had no idea what _best behavior_ was in these situations.

Anna laughed with glee. She had hoped to be able to play with Robin after lunch, but this was even better. Of course someone from another planet wouldn't know what proper manners were. Robin did well for someone not raised in a royal household, but when hosting a foreign dignitary there were rules for _everything_. Anna herself had not yet mastered the art of interacting with others in Society—a deficit which Anna blamed on the lack of Society for her to interact with—but Elsa was another story entirely.

It was almost too perfect. Elsa and Robin did not get along well with one another, but Anna was convinced this could be overcome. It would be like a play that she had watched when she was very small, when the two leads discovered their love after being forced to work together, only substituting love for friendship.

"We can teach you," Anna promised, placing her hand on Robin's. She stole a glance at her sister. "Can't we, Elsa?"

Elsa didn't respond immediately, which Anna took as a yes, and the younger girl beamed. Perhaps her previous misgivings were wrong, for the future had never looked brighter.

* * *

The announcement of the duke's visit was an unexpected kink in Robin's plans. During her time in Arendelle, she had gotten the impression that the royal family did not entertain guests. Since arriving to the castle, she realized that there was a very good reason for this strange behavior, and had assumed that the king's policy would remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.

Robin wanted no part of this surprise visit. Politics were messy and held no interest for her. She was contemplating what would be the best course of action when the king pulled her aside.

"I don't want you meeting the duke," he said quietly, stealing a glance to where his daughters still sat at the table. "He's quite famous for his dislike of magic, and your presence will only raise more questions than I'm willing to answer."

Robin nodded her understanding.

"The problem is," the king continued, his lips pursing in irritation, "I'm trying to enter a new trade agreement with Weselton."

Translation: As much as he wanted to, the king couldn't tell the duke to go away. Again Robin nodded.

"I'm sorry, but with all the preparations I won't have much opportunity to look into your…your situation until after the duke leaves." An anxious light filled his eyes. "I promise we'll find an answer. I just need time."

Robin nodded a third time, although internally she was screaming. If there was one thing she had learned while studying history, it was that time was never guaranteed to anyone. For all the king knew, a natural disaster might strike that very day, or some enemy might try to invade the country. The king could promise whatever he wanted, but he had a country to rule and that took top priority.

"May I look at your library in the meantime?" Robin asked.

The king thought about it for a moment. "I don't see why not. Although you're not going to be able to read many of the older texts if you don't understand runes."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Robin said as she glanced at the table where Anna was quite literally bouncing in her seat. The younger princess had expressed her desire to help Robin in any way she could, and while she probably wasn't the best of teachers, Robin was confident enough in her ability that she didn't think it would make much of a difference. Besides, there surely must be a book to help her translate amongst all the king's resources.

A knot loosened in her stomach. Once again she had a plan, undefined as it was. Duke or no duke, king or no king, Robin was going to find her way back home.

* * *

After lunch and before afternoon lessons, Anna pulled Elsa aside and in excited whispers shared her plan to educate Robin in royal hospitality. At first the older girl balked, but the longer Anna talked, the more Elsa realized her sister had a point. If Robin was to stay with them, she had to know what was acceptable behavior.

Elsa had met the Duke of Weselton once before, albeit only briefly. He was a strange little man, and while mostly harmless had a penchant for getting into mischief. Elsa just couldn't see how pulling a stunt like this wouldthis would benefit him now. Father had already agreed to the trade negotiations—which were _very _favorable to Weselton—and by threatening to back out now he stood to damage his own reputation.

It was very curious indeed, and until she knew more Elsa didn't want to run the risk of Robin ruining everything her father had worked so hard to accomplish. If that meant giving Robin lessons in manners, so be it. Her discomfort was a small price to pay.

But that didn't mean she had to like it. Elsa gave her tentative agreement to Anna's plan and watched as her sister skipped off to her lesson. After waiting a moment to make sure she was truly gone, Elsa doubled back in search of Robin.

She found her talking quietly to Gerda. Elsa hung back, her resolve tested by a sudden burst of nerves. As she watched, Elsa was struck by how utterly _normal _Robin looked. Yes, her skin was a shade darker than most, and with her slanted eyes and thin-bladed nose one would be hard-pressed to mistake her as a full blood native, but other than that she had the appearance of a regular girl. There was no hint of her devastating power, nothing to tip off the fact she had sailed the seas as a wanted pirate.

Presently, Robin turned away from Gerda. She locked eyes with Elsa, and her expression hardened. In a moment that normalcy was gone, and Elsa could see a lifetime's worth of hate and anger in her glare. Elsa was taken aback by her abrupt change in demeanor. It was as if there were two different people locked in the same body, and Elsa was the only one who ever saw this side of Robin.

"Can I help you, Your Highness?" Robin asked. She managed to maintain a respectful tone, and despite her feelings regarding the other girl, Elsa was resolved to do the same.

"Actually, yes," Elsa said. She turned her attention to Gerda. "Do you mind if I talk with Robin for a moment? Alone?"

"Of course not, Princess Elsa," the servant replied. She dipped into a curtsy and took her leave, a small smile dancing on her lips, obviously believing the girls to be on good terms with one another.

When she was out of earshot, Elsa focused back on the true reason for this talk. Gazing at Robin seriously, she said, "I have lessons soon, so I don't have much time. Anna wants us to give you lessons."

For a moment, Robin looked confused. "Yes. She said so at lunch."

"You really want to get back to your world, right?" Elsa asked.

"Yes."

Elsa took a deep breath. "Okay. Then I'll help."

The confusion deepened. "What?"

"I'll help give you lessons." Seeing that the explanation did little to explain things, she continued. "If all goes well, the trade agreement should be signed when the duke arrives. After that, Father should have time to undo that…Demon Fruit spell that sent you here."

"Devil Fruit," Robin corrected. She tilted her head like she were a scientist examining a new species of insect. "The king doesn't think I'll even meet the duke. How does helping me help you?"

"There is a chance he _will _meet you, and if he does, there can't be any reason to suspect you of being, well, what you really are," Elsa said. She realized she was being less than tactful, but it was the truth. "If the duke finds out about your magic, there's a chance he'll back out of the agreement entirely. The sooner that paper is signed, the sooner Father can help you leave."

"And you want me gone?" Robin asked.

Elsa hesitated before giving a sharp nod. "I think it's best for everyone.

Robin considered this, and Elsa could almost see the hostility bleeding out of her, the normal girl taking back her place of residency. When she regarded Elsa again, her gaze was steady and unflinching. "I agree. But there's one problem with your plan."

"And what's that?" Elsa asked.

"There's a chance I'll meet the duke, but it's nearly certain that you will. Between the two of is, it's _your _magic that's out of control. If I can't let the duke know about my ability, then neither can you."

Elsa stiffened, and for the first time all day she felt the temperature drop. "What do you suggest?"

"You help me learn the ins and outs of court life, and I try and help find a way for you to control your magic. It's a fair trade."

"Hardly!" Elsa said, suppressing a laugh. "You don't know the first thing about how magic works here."

"And you don't know what I know," Robin said coldly. "That's my ultimatum, Princess. Take it or leave it."

She offered her hand, and Elsa's eyebrows rose. As a princess, her word alone should have been enough for Robin. For a moment, her pride nearly prevented her from doing what she knew was the right thing.

But then she remembered her mother's words, about how sometimes rulers had to deal with unpleasant people. Reluctantly Elsa clasped Robin's hand, the touch feeling burning hot to her perennially cold digits.

"I agree to your terms," Elsa said gravely.

Robin's expression did not change as she shook the princess's hand. "Then we have a deal. I'll be in the library when you're ready for me."

With that, the other girl turned sharply on her heel and strode purposefully down the corridor. What her destination was, Elsa had no idea, and she had no time to find out. Confused and bewildered by the otherworldly girl, Elsa headed in the opposite direction, trying to think of an excuse she could offer her tutors.

* * *

**AN: **I must apologize for the lack of updates, but I was bitten by a plot bunny and caught a devastating attack of Plotitis. One of the key symptoms is ignoring ongoing works in favor of something new. I want to have more finished before I post (therefore avoiding some of the troubles I've had with _Outcast_), but for my Robin fans out there, keep a lookout for something in the near(ish?) future. I've tentatively dubbed it _The Rats Nest, _a brand new adventure staring Nico Robin and the pre-timeskip crew.

Shameless self-promotion aside, it's good to be back working on this. What will come of the combined efforts of Robin and Elsa? Only time will tell, but between the two of them, I'm pretty sure they could take over the world.


	30. Lessons

Anna had difficulty concentrating on her lessons on the best of days, but that afternoon time seemed to pass particularly slowly. There were so many ideas running through her mind that anything not related to Robin or Elsa was crowded out. It felt like ages since the troll's visit, and so much had happened that Anna hardly knew what to think at all.

Her tutor Master Sagehorn—an experienced old man wise to the ways of eight year old girls—noticed his pupil's wandering mind and decided a practical lesson was in order. He understood that the young princess was not a _bad _student, per say, just one with an excess of energy that—if properly harnessed—could accomplish greatness.

So instead of sitting through another boring old lecture, Anna had the treat of acting out one of the key battles of the First Magic War. She took the part of Phillip the Great, Master Sagehorn, the malicious fairy who had cursed his beloved. That battle was short and fierce, but in the end Anna prevailed.

"And so," Master Sagehorn concluded, still lying on the ground after being 'stabbed' in the heart by her enchanted sword, "Prince Phillip was able to climb the tower. One kiss was all it took to break his beautiful princess's curse of eternal slumber, and the two were married. They were happy together, but the death of Maleficent awakened greater evils in their land, and for the rest of their rule the kingdom was attacked by all manner of tolls, imps, and wicked creatures seeking to avenge their fallen mistress."

"So their kingdom never knew peace?" Anna asked, somewhat perturbed by this fate.

"Eventually," Master Sagehorn said as Anna helped him back to his feet. "Phillip is known as 'the Great' for a reason. He was peerless in battle. And don't forget, there were a few good fairies that fought by his side."

"Good," Anna said emphatically. "So they _did _end up living happily ever after."

"Aye. The love between Aurora and Phillip was pure enough to defeat the most powerful of curses. Not even the forces of Hell could stand between them," Master Sagehorn said.

"Someday I'm going to find my true love," Anna said. "He'll be as courageous as Prince Phillip, as handsome as Prince Eric, and as charming as, well, Prince Charming."

"You do realize that's not his real name?" Master Sagehorn said, looking at her over his spectacles. "And seeing as how they all inherited their thrones, it would behoove you to refer to them by their proper titles."

"Everyone knows that princes are cuter than kings," Anna said dismissively. A smile spread across her face as she saw her sister leaning in the doorway. "Oh, hi Elsa! I didn't know you were standing there."

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what in the world are you talking about?" Elsa said.

"Phillip the Great! Are you finished with your lesson?" Anna asked.

"Yes."

"And I'm done with my lesson?" Anna asked, addressing the question to Master Sagehorn.

"You are done, Your Highness," he said graciously. "Don't forget to keep up with your reading."

"Yes, sir!" Anna said as she dashed out of the room. She grabbed Elsa's arm and drug her back into the corridor.

Elsa yelped as Anna took an unexpected turn and descended down a staircase as quickly as she could without tripping. "Where are we going? Robin is in the library."

"Now you tell me!" Anna came to an abrupt halt, causing her sister to run into her back. Anna stumbled down a few stairs, but managed to catch the banister in time. After taking a moment to steady herself, she flashed a grin at her sister to prove she was unharmed with no further injuries to the head to report.

Elsa stared at her with wide eyes, and the air became cold enough for Anna to see her breath. Tucking her gloved hands under her armpits, Elsa took a defensive step backwards.

No, no, _no_. This would not do. Forcing the smile wider, Anna touched her sister's arm. "The ballroom would be best," she said decisively. "You wait for me there while I get Robin. Okay?"

"Okay." Elsa took a deep breath. "I'm okay," she said, answering Anna's silent question.

"I'll be right back," Anna promised before running up the staircase.

Anna managed not to stumble, trip, or fall even once during her mad dash through the castle, although there may have been a servant or two calling for her to slow down as she ventured into a seldom-visited part of the castle. She paused at the grand wooden doors that opened up to her father's private collection of books.

It felt like an age had passed since she and Elsa had found Robin here in the dead of night. So much had changed in that time. To think, she had once thought Robin incapable of speech…

Shaking her head, Anna pushed the doors open. There would be time for remembering later; right now she had a job to do.

A strange feeling settled over Anna as she strode into the library's antechamber and she felt the sudden need to speak in a whisper. Her father by no means had the largest book collection in the world, but they were well taken care of and treated with the utmost respect. That reflected in the library itself; while the upkeep of the castle's lesser used rooms and wings were often neglected due to the reduced staff, the library was always kept in pristine condition.

It seemed Robin appreciated the effort. Anna found her friend sitting in an alcove with three books open in front of her, scribbling madly on a piece of parchment. Engrossed as she was, Robin didn't notice Anna right away, and for a moment Anna couldn't help but stare.

Robin's attention was split between the three books, and she was somehow able to take notes and read at the same time. Magic arms working independently of one another turned the pages as necessary so Robin never had to break her flow of thought.

Ever movement was seamless and well-practiced. The longer Anna stared the faster Robin scribbled, until she filled her page and threw down her quill in frustration. Still not noticing Anna, she made the extra arms disappear and rubbed her eyes, managing to smear a large streak of black ink across the bridge of her nose.

"Um, hi there," Anna said as Robin flipped through one of the books with her real hands. Robin jerked in surprise, knocking her knees against the desk and causing the inkwell to spill across her freshly minted notes.

"Ohmygosh, I am so sorry!" Anna said, rushing over to help before she ruined everything else. Robin's magic beat her to it. Half a dozen arms sprouted to carry the books to safety, another righted the fallen inkwell, two others formed a barrier to keep the ink from spreading any farther, while yet _another _reached for blotting paper in an attempt to sop up some of the mess.

In less than thirty seconds the desk was as clean is it was going to get without the aid of a servant. Anna looked at Robin, who was only looking at her notes, and back to the desk, amazed. The display of magic was just as coordinated and effortless as what Elsa used to be able to do.

"Um, wow," Anna said breathlessly. "That was incredible."

Robin's head snapped up, noticing Anna for the first time. Confusion clouded in her eyes, and she didn't say anything.

"I'm really sorry I startled you and messed up your paper," Anna said. "It looks like you can still read some of it."

Which was true. Thanks to Robin's quick thinking, the ink spill had only ruined the top right hand corner. But Robin only shook her head, her normally unreadable expression changing to an irritated frown.

"Useless," she muttered, setting it back on the desk and wiping her hands on her dress as if she'd just touched something grimy. She turned to Anna, still clearly distracted. "Did you want me, Your Highness?"

"Uh, yeah. Elsa's in the ballroom for your first lesson."

"Lesson…? Oh!" Robin's eyes widened. "I got distracted and forgot…" She shook her head again, this time as if she were trying to clear it. "You said she's waiting for me?"

"Yes."

Robin glanced back at the desk, an anxious light in her eyes. "But what about this?"

"I'll find someone to clean it up," Anna said. "You go ahead, I'll catch up."

Robin offered a jerky nod, and with a final forlorn glance to her ink-stained papers left the library. When she was gone, Anna's curiosity got the better of her and she went to examine her friend's work.

There were pages upon pages of notes, written front and back, outlining Robin's afternoon findings. At first the writing was tidy and organized, block-like letters forming neat, orderly rows. Slowly Robin's handwriting dissolved into an illegible scrawl of fragmented sentences and incomplete questions. Anna lifted one sheet of parchment that seemed dedicated to tracing Arendelle's royal line back to antiquity before flipping it over to read a chart detailing the country's economy. The more Anna read, the more incomprehensible the notes became to anyone but the writer, until Anna had to wonder what in the world Robin was trying to accomplish with her research.

_Human and fairy magic, same or different?_

_Wesleton=Grand duchy_

_Smalahove?_

_**Find Translation**_

This last point was circled three times for emphasis. Frowning, Anna folded the page into quarters and stuck it in her pocket. These notes weren't useless. They couldn't be. Which could only mean Robin had been addressing _Anna _in her frustration.

Feeling immensely hurt, Anna dropped her head. She hadn't _meant _to make Robin spill. Accidents happened all the time, didn't they? It wasn't her fault.

Was it?

The speed and efficiency in which Robin used her magic replayed in Anna's mind. She couldn't imagine the grace and coordination it took to control all those different arms when she struggled so much with just two. Compared to that, maybe she was useless.

But Robin was her friend, and friends didn't say things like that to each other, even if there was a hint of truth in them. Or at least, that's what Anna thought. Her only friend before Robin had been her sister, and they spent years without talking to one another, so maybe she was wrong.

With that unhappy thought, Anna went to find someone who could help clean up another one of her messes.

* * *

Elsa's heart began to beat louder when she saw Robin enter the ballroom absent her sister. The dark-haired girl didn't look too happy herself as she explained Anna needed to finish something before she got down, and that they might as well get started.

Robin was somehow less intimidating with ink streaked across her nose and staining her hands. Elsa started off by explaining curtsy etiquette. They had gone through what a proper curtsy looked like and Arendelle's Order of Precedence when Anna returned, lacking all the enthusiasm that had been there when Elsa saw her last.

Elsa shot Robin a dirty look, but the other girl looked just as confused by Anna's sudden change. When Anna saw them both staring a smile that could nearly pass for genuine spread across her face and she asked what they were working on.

Confused by Robin's confusion and troubled by the ease her sister could feign being cheerful, it took every ounce of Elsa's concentration to keep her power in check while watching Anna for any other clues explaining her behavior. There were no accidents, and by the time they called it a night Elsa was exhausted from the effort.

She had no idea what was bothering Anna, but she suspected Robin was at the root of it. If that was the case, Elsa was fiercely determined to put a stop to it. Anna treated Robin with nothing but kindness (_undeserved _kindness in Elsa's opinion, but that was neither here nor there), and the outsider had no right to take advantage of that.

But Elsa had no evidence of Robin's wrongdoing—if indeed she had done something wrong, which Elsa became surer of the longer she thought about it. As they went their separate ways, Elsa determined to keep an extra close watch on Robin for the remainder of her stay. If Robin did anything even remotely suspicious Elsa would know, and put a stop to it before things got out of hand again.

* * *

**AN:** I noticed that I'm getting awfully close to 100 reviews for this fic (you guys are awesome) and I felt like it would be appropriate to do something special to celebrate the occasion. The only problem is I don't know what you guys would want. I could do a Q and A, some sort of bonus chapter (though I don't know what that would look like), or some other option that I haven't thought up of because I am boring and no good at celebrations.

So send me a PM or mention in a review what you guys think would be fun. I'll pick the idea I like best and see what I can come up with. Thanks for sticking with me for thirty chapters as I write by the seat of my pants. It's my hope that we won't have another thirty to go before the end ;)


	31. Midnight Rendezvous

"_They say that Absolute Justice can drive a man mad."_

_Robin stared at Saul's murderer. Behind her, the Tree of Knowledge was engulfed in flames, yet cannon fire continued to whistle through the air. Robin could hear the screams of the dying, her mother among them, and took a step back. _

_The marine rose to his feet, transforming into a monster made of ice. Eyes black and heartless as obsidian reflected the red glow of the blaze merrily, as if mocking her terror. Robin wanted to run—knew she _must _run—but she was trapped, ice before her, fire behind. _

"_If we meet again, I will be your enemy."_

_The monster changed again, turning into the form of a girl with white hair and eyes as cold as the element she controlled. Her chin jutted out proudly as she looked down at Robin, silver magic writhing in her hands as it sought to escape, to freeze, to destroy…_

Robin's eyes snapped open as she woke from the nightmare. For a few frenzied moments she could not recall where she was. The scar on her back throbbed in time with her thundering heart as instinctively Robin remained as still as possible, listening and fearing for the enemy that was sure to be lurking in the shadows.

Slowly her rational mind asserted itself, and Robin took inventory of the situation. She was unharmed and comfortably settled in a luxurious bed. The summer air was pleasantly warm, with a cross-breeze circulating through the room from a cracked window cooling her sweat-soaked skin. There was no one standing over her knife in hand ready to slit her throat, no princesses with their hands raised ready to freeze her solid. Robin was well and truly alone.

This knowledge was less comforting than it should have been. Robin threw the sheet off of her as she sat up, dangling her legs off of the edge of the bed. There was no clock in the room, but based on how far the moon had risen Robin guessed she'd been asleep for about three hours. At that moment sleep seemed very far away, and she didn't particularly want for it to come back.

Robin stood, stretched, and rubbed her eyes, searching until she found her notes. Her bare feet made not a sound as she grabbed the pieces of parchment and left the bedroom, searching for some place she might find solace.

She wandered aimlessly for a while, a restless wraith haunting the hallways and corridors. Here was the banister where she first showed her power to Anna, there the Great Hall where she confronted Princess Elsa, the drawing room where she first snuck in lay beyond that door, so on and so forth, many of the locations familiar to her, yet feeling alien and foreboding in the dark of night.

Eventually she found herself outside the picture gallery. Robin didn't know if she was allowed to light a candle and there wasn't much moonlight that streamed through the high windows, but it was enough to read by. She sat under Joan of Arc's likeness to study her notes.

It didn't take long for the frustration of the afternoon to return. There was so much she didn't know and too much information for her to properly focus her research. At times the culture and customs of Arendelle and its neighbors were familiar enough to lure Robin into a false sense of understanding, when she would discover something completely disarming that forced her to take a step backwards. It was nearly impossible for Robin to wrap her mind around fact that there was no overarching government keeping the world intact. Nearly as bizarre was the religion that held enough power to influence matters of state. And those were only two of the many differences that separated Arendelle's reality from her own.

The more Robin read the more she became aware of how little she really knew. She was an infant just learning that there was a world that existed beyond its own needs and desires, an explorer setting for with nothing but an empty map, a _tabula rasa _of ignorance.

What was the definition of a fairy? Why was sheep's head traditionally eaten before Christmas? What was Christmas? What in the world were these Magic Wars, and why were they important enough to be referenced in nearly every text she had skimmed through earlier in the day?

Questions, questions, questions, and for every one she answered, three more came to take their place, none leading to the most important answer of them all: How could she get back?

It was foolish to expect so much from only a few hours of reading, but every second she stayed in the castle the more impatient and anxious Robin became to leave it before she became too attached. She was a mess of conflicting emotions and desires, it was no wonder the nightmares came back.

"You should be in bed, Princess," Robin said without lifting her eyes to the shadow in the doorway. Princess Elsa stepped into the gallery proper, and in the moonlight she had the ethereal look of a winter spirit. The effect was ruined by a jaw-splitting yawn, and as the princess covered it with a hand Robin noticed that she was not wearing her gloves.

"So should you," she answered.

Robin did not want to admit that she couldn't sleep, so she remained silent.

The princess didn't seem to know what to do with this lack of response. She rubbed her hands nervously as she looked around the room. "You really like it in here, don't you?"

"It was quiet," Robin said, placing a subtle emphasis placed on the _was_.

"I heard you walking around and was curious."

"You couldn't have known it was me," Robin said.

The princess rolled her eyes. "Please. If Anna were awake she'd be running up and down the halls making sure everyone was up with her, and no one else is going to be up at this hour."

There was nothing Robin could say to contradict her point. "Was there something you wanted from me, then? Because if not, I have things I have to do."

That was a lie and they both knew it. Princess Elsa studied her for awhile, her face taking on a pensive look. "Do you know what was wrong with Anna tonight?"

"No. Not unless she was upset about the spill."

"What spill?" Princess Elsa asked.

This time it was Robin's turn to hesitate as she questioned Princess Elsa's motives. The princess's relationship with one another was another one of the things that had Robin completely flummoxed. She knew, in theory, that it was possible for siblings to be good friends with one another. As Robin had no brothers or sisters of her own, the closest thing to a sibling relationship she had ever had was with her cousin. Robin's memories of her childhood home were uniformly bleak and unhappy, and her cousin played a part in that.

In addition, Robin couldn't understand how Anna and Princess Elsa could care deeply for one another when they basically hadn't spoken to one another in four years. Robin could (barely) grasp Anna's admiration and dedication for her older sister, but couldn't see how Princess Elsa could reciprocate.

In the end, Robin decided there was no reason to lie about what Princess Elsa could easily learn from Anna or one of the servants. In as few words as possible, Robin explained how Anna had startled her, causing the ink to spill. As Robin spoke, Princess Elsa began to fidget. Without realizing it, the older princess began to use her magic, strands of ice as thin as gossamer thread spinning into geometric shapes between her fingers.

Robin's voice trailed off, both fascinated and a little afraid of her power. Elsa looked at her quizzically, then down at her hands. Cheeks pinking with embarrassment, she brought her hands together, collapsing the delicately beautiful matrix of ice and snow into nothing.

"I was practicing earlier tonight," she said apologetically. "I…I didn't tell Father."

"Oh," Robin said quietly.

"Anyway," Princess Elsa hurried on, "something like that wouldn't upset Anna. She knocks things over all the time."

"Then I don't know," Robin said. "It must have been after I left."

They fell into an awkward silence that Robin felt an obligation to fill. Moistening her lips, she gathered her wits about her. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, it was in her best benefits to stay in Princess Elsa's good graces. They didn't have to like each other to be allies for their common interests, namely the wellbeing of Anna and Robin's quick return to her world.

"I'll keep an eye out on her," Robin promised. "And I haven't forgotten our agreement either. There are a few ideas I'm willing to try."

"Like what?" Princess Elsa asked.

"I want to do some more thinking first before I make any definite conclusions, but there's a saying where I'm from that might be helpful."

"And what's that?" Princess Elsa asked, curious despite herself.

"Devil Fruits don't get stronger; their users get more creative." Robin rubbed the bridge of her nose as she reflected every time she had ever seen Princess Elsa use her power. "And I think that's true for you as well. Why do you wear your gloves during the day?"

"Because it helps keep my magic under control."

"It shouldn't," Robin said, shaking her head. "There's no reason a flimsy layer of material should stop ice cold enough to freeze people. The gloves help because you _think _they help. Your problem isn't mechanics, Princess, it's _mentality_."

Princess Elsa's face contorted into disbelief, and she looked as if she wanted to argue. She didn't, and Robin got no small satisfaction from striking her dumb.

"If that's all, I'm going to bed." Another lie, but it came out so easily that Robin had no hope of stopping it. "I suggest you do the same."

"Yes," Princess Elsa said, her voice distant. "Yes, I think we should."

Robin scooped up her papers and left Joan's protective gaze. Afraid of waking anyone else, she shuffled to her bedroom—which felt so claustrophobic and uninviting—where she sat until she finally succumbed to fitful slumber as the first light of dawn streaked across the horizon.

* * *

**AN**: Thanks for the suggestions, I have an idea for a bonus chapter that I'll start working on to celebrate the milestone of 100 reviews. You guys continue to be awesome.

On a completely unrelated note, I've basically been making this story up as I've gone along, but this is a scene I've had in mind since the beginning, particularly the part where Elsa starts fiddling with her magic without realizing it. Since ice dresses are within the realm of her power, I bet Elsa could play a mean game of cat's cradle using threads of ice for her string.


	32. The Game Begins

**AN: **Sorry for the delay between chapters. I had this finished awhile back, decided I hated it, then rewrote the entire thing. Still not entirely happy, but it's better than what it was.

As requested, I've completed bonus chapter for reaching the 100 review milestone. It takes place after the events of _Outcast_, and it wasn't until I was 2000 words in that I realized I was spoiling the end to my own story and that some people might actually care about stuff like that.

Out of deference to those who might not want to know whether or not Robin returns to the One Piece universe at this time, what I've done is uploaded the chapter as a separate story called _Cast Out_ (super creative, I know). I'm labeling it as a one shot for now, but if you guys like it I may continue.

Without further ado, here's the long awaited chapter 32

* * *

"Okay, so I've been thinking."

"We can tell," Princess Elsa said dryly.

Anna giggled and Robin resisted the urge to roll her eyes, continuing as if the older princess hadn't spoken. "Princess, would you agree that you usually lose control of your power when you're surprised or startled?"

"I...guess so?" she answered. "I notice it most when I'm upset about something."

"So when you're caught off guard?" Robin prompted.

Princess Elsa considered it before nodding thoughtfully, and Robin had to suppress a smirk. She had been spending her evenings with the princesses ever since the announcement of the duke's visit, and despite these "lessons" cutting into her research time, she felt like the results were more than worth it.

Princess Elsa and Anna drilled her mercilessly on everything from royal hospitality to how to waltz. There was still little chance of Robin meeting the duke personally, but if she had to, she felt like she could pretend that she had always been a member of the king's household. The official story was that she was an orphan the king and queen picked up on a whim to be a companion for the two princesses. Such a thing would be considered odd, Princess Elsa explained, but not entirely unheard of. And since the royal family already had the reputation of being a little strange, such a decision would not stick out unnecessarily.

More importantly, Robin had the opportunity to study Princess Elsa, and she felt like she was finally starting to understand her power. Now, with the duke's arrival just days away, it was time to hold up her end of the bargain.

"So it would make sense, then, that if you were never caught off guard then you would be able to control your power better," Robin said. She gauged the princess's reactions and couldn't help but be disappointed. Instead of eager excitement at this new breakthrough, they only shared a look of reluctance.

"How're we going to do that?" Anna asked.

"That's impossible," Princess Elsa said at the same time.

"With my power, and yes it is," Robin said. "Look, the key to not being surprised is watching and being ready for anything." She almost added _I know from experience, _but caught herself just in time. They didn't need to know anything about the terrible mistakes she'd made just after Ohara's fall when she was learning what it meant to be wanted by the World Government.

"The danger of testing your magic is that people might get hurt, right?" Robin asked.

"Yes," Princess Elsa said softly.

Without warning, Robin closed her eyes and crossed her arms. With a few whispered words, an arm sprouted out of the older princess's back and tapped her on the shoulder.

Princess Elsa shrieked as frost swirled out from under her feet and a burst of magic exploded from her hands, sailing harmlessly past Anna and Robin and into the wall. It was almost the exact same reaction she had to when Robin attacked her before, and this time Robin was ready for it. Before Princess Elsa even knew what was happening, the phantom limb vanished in a flurry of petals.

"What was that for?" Princess Elsa demanded. "I could have hit you!"

"But you didn't, which proves my point. With my power I can test you remotely and when no one else is around."

"That is so…so _irresponsible_!"

"How?" Robin challenged. "There's literally no risk of hurting anybody."

That wasn't strictly true, for if the ice hit one of Robin's copied limbs then the damage would transfer to the original, but Princess Elsa didn't need to know that. It was a risk Robin was willing to take. Because while helping the older princess control her magic terrified Robin on a level she would never admit, even to herself, right now Princess Elsa was a bomb that could go off at any time.

"So you're going to use your magic to try and surprise Elsa, and Elsa's going to try and not be surprised?" Anna asked, cutting through the tension building between the two older girls.

"That's the idea," Robin said. "But I'll only do it if Princess Elsa agrees."

"I…I don't know…"

"So it's like a game," Anna said. "A game between you and Elsa. Can I play? I'm good at surprises, too."

"No! Absolutely no—"

"You can judge," Robin interrupted, cutting off Princess Elsa's protest. "We need someone to keep score. Someone who makes sure no one breaks the rules."

Princess Elsa groaned into her hands. "_Fine_. The first rule is you can't do anything when there are other people around!"

Having anticipated this, Robin nodded. With the duke's upcoming arrival there was a surge of activity within the castle that would make it more difficult, but with a little creativity she was sure she could manage.

"Okay, no other people. Got it. What else?" Anna asked.

There was a pause, and Robin and Princess Elsa looked at one another. "The idea is to make you more aware of your surroundings. The more restrictions, the less valuable the exercise," Robin said.

"I don't care what it takes, I just don't want anyone to get hurt," Princess Elsa said.

"So I guess that means anything goes," Robin said, her respect for the other girl's resolve rising. She glanced at Anna, "Every day I'll come tell you how many times I tried to surprise Princess Elsa, and Princess Elsa will tell you how often she lost control of her powers. Then maybe we can compare notes and see if there's anything we can do to help Princess Elsa in the future."

A grin spread across Anna's face. "This is going to be the best game _ever_."

"So we're going through with this. You're going to help me control my power." Princess Elsa shook her head, almost in disbelief. "I'm still not sure this is going to help."

_We'll see about that, Princess, _Robin thought as the three girls bid one another good night. _We'll see about that._

* * *

In light of the Duke of Weselton's upcoming visit, the king had no choice but to hire more staff throughout the castle. Rumors began to spread like wildfire through the city and the surrounding countryside attempting to explain the sudden change. Some said it was a conspiracy, others an anomaly, but for the most part there was only excitement.

Parents explained to their children what it had been like before the royal family so callously shut the door on their people. Shopkeepers, fishermen, and blacksmiths reminisced on the days where they could take their grievances directly to the king. Rich and poor agreed that this new development was very welcome indeed, and all throughout the country there was reason to celebrate.

The political intrigue was lost on Anna, whose only concern in the days leading up to the duke's visit was helping her sister help Robin and helping Robin help her sister. She knew to an extent that she was just tagging along as Elsa and Robin helped each other, but having little use was much better than having no use at all. For the most part she was completely content with their arrangement.

However there was something about Robin's behavior since the troll's visit that was nagging on her. With all that needed done, Gerda no longer had time to entertain Robin, so while Anna and Elsa were working on their lessons she was in the library. Anna had no idea how Robin could stand to spend hours hunched over dusty books that were boring and probably hadn't been opened during her lifetime, but she wasn't one to judge.

What time wasn't spent reading Robin used to pore over her notes. There were even times when she was with Anna and Elsa that she would zone out entirely, and while Robin was really good at learning stuff, once her attention was lost Anna had a difficult time getting it back again.

Anna took it upon herself to figure out what in the world was bothering her friend, but so far was unsuccessful. At first she thought that the mysterious notes held the key, but as the days passed and Anna picked up page after page lost or discarded by their author the less sense they made.

With a frown, Anna took her most recent find out of her pocket. As far as she could tell it was just the runic alphabet written over and over again, but maybe if she stared hard enough she could decipher its mysterious meaning…

Or that's what she thought until her ruminations led her headfirst into a wall.

"Anna! Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Anna said, rubbing her forehead. Looking up at her Papa, she smiled sheepishly. "At least it wasn't armor this time."

"You should watch where you're walking," he said as he helped her to her feet, although he was smiling as he said it. "What has captured your attention so thoroughly?"

It had been several days since Anna had her father all to herself, and despite her impending headache she gave him a grin that went ear to ear. "It's Robin. I'm trying to figure out her research."

"Her…research?" Papa said. "Has she made a breakthrough?"

"I don't think so. Look what I've found!"

Anna handed her father the page in her hand before digging two more out of her pocket. One was the one marred by the ink spill she caused, the other one she'd found crumpled up in the corner of the library the day before last. Both were were just as confusing as the one full of runes.

Papa scanned the sheets, and a crease formed between his eyebrows that was identical to the one Elsa had when she was perturbed by something. "Do you mind if I keep these?"

"They're Robin's," Anna said. "I was going to give them back, I promise."

"I'll make sure she gets them," he said.

"Okay," Anna said with a shrug. It wasn't as if she was getting anything out of them anyway.

"Off to bed then," Papa said. "The Duke of Weselton will be here in three days' time, and we all should be well-rested for his visit."

Anna resisted the urge to point out that _he _looked anything but rested and did as she was told.

* * *

"Husband, dear, you're exhausted and should be in bed."

Agdar looked up from the three disheveled pieces of parchment his daughter gave to him earlier in the evening. "In a moment."

"Dear, you fretting will not change a thing about the duke's visit," his wife said. Two slender arms wrapped around his neck from behind, and Agdar allowed himself to melt into Idun's embrace.

"It's not the duke I'm worried about. Look at this. They're the result of Robin's afternoons in the library."

Idun glanced at the papers, and he could almost hear her smile when she said, "Her handwriting is atrocious."

"That's not the important thing. Here, look at this," Agdar said, pointing to the bottom line written on one of the pages.

"I am Robin."

"Written in _runes_," Agdar said. "She's teaching herself how to write and read futhark runes."

"I'll admit that's impressive, but didn't she tell you she had already taught herself a language in her world?" Idun asked, mildly puzzled by her husband's distress.

"Yes, but it's one thing to be told she's intelligent, it's another to see it in person. Idun, Robin might just figure out how to return to her world before we do. If that happens, I'm not sure we could stop her, or even that we should."


	33. Cruel Necessities

Elsa had to give Robin credit. When the outsider said she was going to do something, she _did _it. There was no holding back, no reservations, and no mercy.

Over the course of their 'game', Elsa endured the invasion of surprise arms, legs, and eyeballs into almost every facet of her life. Robin pushed their one rule to its absolute limit, tapping Elsa on the shoulder seconds before her tutor entered the room and waving at her when she was walking down the stairs to seen Anna.

For the first day or so there were accidents, and Elsa almost called the game off when Robin pinched her nose right as she was getting to sleep. But that would require admitting that Robin won, and that was something that the young princess's pride simply wouldn't allow. Each time Elsa felt her magic slip through her fingers she would redouble her efforts, clamping down on her unruly power with the iron determination to improve.

Each time she got a little better, recovering faster, becoming more aware of her surroundings. There was no way Elsa could master the skill of observation in just three days, but she felt like she was starting to understand what Robin was talking about. There was a trick to it. Elsa couldn't concentrate on any one thing to the exclusion of everything else. She had to listen while she read, watch while she walked. She had to be aware.

On the night before the duke's arrival, Elsa made the long trek up to the library. She heard the servants whispering amongst themselves. In the past Elsa would assume they were talking about her and dissolve into a nervous wreck; tonight she strained her ears and heard a snippet of their conversation as she passed, only to realize they were discussing the Duke of Wesleton.

The duke, not her. They weren't afraid of her magic. They weren't paying attention to her at all.

Elsa was thinking that over when she made it to the library door. She looked up to see Robin's face staring at her. Not all of Robin, just her face. Coming right out of the middle of the door.

"Gah!" Elsa scrambled back, recoiling in horror. The currents in the air swirled as dangerously, and the young princess took a deep breath, forcing her unruly magic back under control. It took longer than she would have liked, and Elsa flexed her fingers. The silky material of her gloves pulled taunt against the back of her hands. She wore them less often now, mostly during her lessons and when she needed the extra reminder to stay on her best behavior.

She managed not to freeze anything important. One of the eyes winked at her (_so creepy_) and a disembodied arm opened the door for her.

"Good evening, Princess," Robin said evenly from her usual seat, as if she hadn't just _made her face grow out of a door_. Elsa scowled as she tucked her arms under her armpits. It was always difficult to decipher what Robin was thinking, but Elsa thought she heard a hint of amusement in the other girl's voice.

"Good evening," Elsa said. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Robin didn't reply. More than a little irritated, Elsa walked over and saw that Robin was absorbed in her work—hardly unusual—today hunched over a map of the continent, soaking in every detail of the parchment as if it held the key to returning her back to her world. Elsa doubted she even heard what she said. For someone who harped on constant vigilance, Robin could be surprisingly spacy at times.

"Weselton," Robin said. She tapped on the country and raised an eyebrow. "It's not very big."

There was a hidden question in the statement, and Elsa walked over to the map. "It's not that much smaller than Arendelle."

"It's mountainous. There can't be much arable land."

"No, but it's got iron to spare, as well as some of the best copper in the world." Robin withdrew her hand quickly as Elsa circled the surrounding countries with a finger. "In the past, other nations tried to conquer Weselton because the Twin Peak Pass—one of the key routes through the mountains—lays at the heart of the country. If anyone wants to travel to the other side of the continent they have to sail around by boat or go through Weselton. But none of the attacks succeeded. There are just too many natural defenses."

"Did Arendelle try to attack it?"

"Once, a long time ago," Elsa said, blushing a little at her ancestor's folly. "The king thought that just because he had the best navy in the world that his army was just as capable. The campaign ended in disaster, and since then Arendelle decided it was easier to be allies with Weselton than enemies."

"Interesting," Robin murmured to herself. "What about these islands? On the older maps they're just labeled 'the Isles', but here they're separated into North and South."

"Civil war broke out when two brothers both laid claim to the throne. The islands in the north supported one while the south the other. Neither was able to gain the upper hand, so they split. Even today they don't get along well, although I think that's just because the king of the Southern Isles is a jerk."

"How so?" Robin asked.

"I don't know, it's something I overheard Mother and Father talking about after they got back from his wedding. I don't think they liked how he treated his sons. His first wife died in childbirth," Elsa explained when she saw a look of confusion flicker across Robin's eyes. "He has, like, ten kids."

"So Arendelle is currently allies with Weselton, but not the Southern Isles," Robin said. "And Corona, too, if I remember correctly."

For the thousandth time, Elsa wondered what in the world Robin was reading to find out all this information. "There is a connection, yes. The queen of Corona and Mother are sisters, although they haven't seen each other in years. Not since…" Elsa's voice trailed off and she fingered the black letters on the map guiltily. Corona's heir had been kidnapped by a witch years ago. The case was famous throughout the world, causing enough outrage in some places to launch a new era of persecution against magic users.

Elsa didn't like thinking about it, and she withdrew her hand before she accidently froze something.

A curious look flashed across Robin's face, gone before Elsa could determine what it was, and she rolled up the map. "I assume you're ready for me?"

"Yes. I think Anna has something planned."

"I shouldn't stay long. I need to study some things before tomorrow."

"Why?" Elsa scoffed. "You've done nothing _but _study for days. It's not like you're going to have to talk to the duke."

"You said I have to prepare myself like I will," Robin snapped. "Do you know how strange it is, what your father is doing? Kings don't just accept commoners into their household and let them interact with their children. When the Duke of Weselton arrives, he can't see you or Anna with me. Not unless you want to raise questions that shouldn't be answered."

"But the duke isn't here now, and all Anna wants is to spend time with her friend."

Robin glared at Elsa, a murderous expression in her eyes. Elsa was frightened, but managed to hold her ground. The temperature dropped as some of Elsa's magic slipped away from her grasp—a whisper of power that held the promise of a roar if allowed to escape.

"I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work," Robin said, her voice hard.

"What are you talking about?" Elsa asked. She straightened her shoulders, refusing to allow herself to be intimidated. "You're not making any sense."

"You're trying to make things like they were before you hurt your sister," Robin said. "You don't like me, but you're pretending to so Anna will be happy. You think that you can make up for four years of ignoring her."

Elsa paled, the words both cutting her to the heart and confusing her beyond belief. Robin was right; Elsa did not like her. But in the days since meeting with the trolls, Elsa had to admit that the outsider was…tolerable. Robin was like her in a way: quiet, studious, and without Anna's boundless energy that Elsa both loved and was exasperated by.

In a few days Robin had done more to help Elsa control her power than her parents had in twelve years. They weren't _friends_, per say, but neither could they continue to be enemies.

"It's impossible, you know," Robin continued. She wasn't looking at Elsa now, her face emotionless and her voice flat. "You can't make Anna forget, and you can't make the past go away. You might as well stop trying to redeem yourself, because you're not fooling anyone."

Whoever said words couldn't hurt were terrible liars. With a few short sentences Robin opened up a raw, gaping wound in Elsa's heart. Her stomach clenched, and she had to fight the urge to vomit.

"That's…that's not true," Elsa said numbly.

Robin laughed. It was quiet, hollow, and humorless, but there was no doubt that Robin was laughing at her. Elsa's temper snapped, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment and shame. Everything Elsa had ever done was for her sister. Her banishment from Anna's life had been misguided, yes, but even then she had been motivated fear of harming those she cared most about.

Robin had no right to mock that. It was _Elsa's _door Anna had stood day after miserable day and _Elsa _she came to when she was afraid or troubled. Anna had more than proved her unconditional love, and anything Robin said to the contrary was nothing but hateful rhetoric from a bitter, angry _outcast_.

Trembling in fury and the effort not to blast Robin off of the face of the planet, Elsa raised her chin, trying to pretend she wasn't about ready to cry. "Th-that's not true."

There was silence, tense as a drawn bow string. Robin still wasn't looking at her, the coward, a curtain of dark hair hiding whatever she was thinking. She still held the map in one hand, and Elsa focused on that one meaningless detail as she concentrated on breathing. _In, out. In, out. In, don't freeze her no matter how much she deserves it, out._

Nearly five minutes passed before Elsa felt like she could move without setting off a blizzard. Finally Robin raised her head, and Elsa noticed that her completion was ashen and her movements rigid. Before the young princess could puzzle out the meaning behind the strange body language, Robin spoke.

"Congratulations, Princess," she said softly, once again dropping her gaze. "You pass."

"Wait…_what_?!"

* * *

Cruel necessities, no matter how necessary, were still cruel.

The so-called game between Robin and Elsa went off without a hitch, with neither princess realizing Robin's greater plan. Anna had been especially helpful in that regard, jumping into her role with surprising enthusiasm. Robin spent nearly three days playing by the rules, exhausting her creativity in finding new ways to catch Princess Elsa off guard.

Every once in a while Robin would push the boundaries that Princess Elsa set, but again, this was expected. Robin carefully used the princess's preconceived notions of her to set up the true test of whether or not Princess Elsa could control her power.

Because even if phantom faces and secret taps on the shoulder were useful, it was all meaningless unless Princess Elsa could exhibit the same level of ability when the stakes were at their highest. Princess Elsa had to prove, to Robin and herself, that she could keep control when there was the potential of hurting someone else.

And it worked, perhaps too well. After several days, Robin realized that Anna and Princess Elsa took turns coming to get her after their lessons were completed. She knew that the day before the duke's arrival that Princess Elsa would meet her in the library. Robin was nearly certain that she would come alone.

From there it was just a matter of recreating the conversation of the night Princess Elsa struck her with her magic. Claiming that Anna would never forgive Princess Elsa was the one, surefire way Robin knew to make the young witch angry.

It was a terrible risk to take, but after watching Princess Elsa's drastic improvement since the troll's visit Robin was reasonably sure that she would succeed. And if she didn't…well, then only Robin's life was at stake.

It was strangely difficult to insinuate that all of Princess Elsa's efforts to improve herself were useless. After reading how magic users were sometimes treated in this world and learning more about Princess Elsa's unique circumstances, Robin came to appreciate the older girl's everyday struggle. Robin knew what it was like to be hated for her power, and she never had to deal with duplicate arms and eyes spontaneously sprouting when she didn't want them to. Princess Elsa was reasonably intelligent, committed to her duty, with an inner fire that—while not as apparent as her sister's—burned just as fiercely.

Robin didn't necessarily like Princess Elsa, but she could respect her. That was more than she could say of most.

"What?" Princess Elsa repeated, a thunderous expression crossing her face. "A test? This was a _test_?"

Robin found she couldn't answer around the lump in her throat.

"I can't believe you. I literally cannot comprehend the words that are coming out of your mouth. I could have _killed_ you."

"I had to know," Robin said dully. Her insides were twisting themselves into knots, and Robin found that the only way she could speak at all was to take all of her unwanted emotions and force them away deep inside where she couldn't feel them, just like she had to when dealing with pirates.

She had forgotten how much it hurt to do that.

"You had no right," Elsa said, her voice trembling.

Perhaps not, but neither did she have a choice.

Elsa opened her mouth to say something else and thought better of it. Spinning on one heel, she marched over to the door of the library. It was only then she paused. She took off her glove, a finger at a time, and placed her hand on the wooden frame.

A thin line of ice trailed down from each digit, and Princess Elsa angrily shoved the glove back on. "That wasn't a test," she whispered. "That was _mean_."

She stormed out of the library, leaving Robin rooted in place. The princess was right, of course, and Robin knew it. But in Robin's world you _had _to be mean to survive. No one else in the castle would have done what Robin did, and regardless of what Princess Elsa thought, she was stronger because of it.

_I could have killed you_.

It was impossible to ignore the fact that even after purposefully saying the cruelest thing she could think of with the intention of hurting her, Princess Elsa's first concern had been for Robin's personal wellbeing. That sort of altruism could only be found in a genuinely good person, and it was a trait Robin never would have attributed to Princess Elsa beforehand.

They had more in common than Robin wanted to admit, but with a few words she had ruined whatever chances there were of being friends. And as she rushed to her room, purposefully avoiding Anna and Gerda and anyone else who might want to talk to her, Robin pretended that she didn't care.


	34. Fallout

Robin woke up shortly after dawn to the sound of people walking up and down the hallway just outside her door—likely servants, getting ready for the big day. She threw her blanket over her head with a groan and tried to get back to sleep, but it was useless. The castle was awake and eagerly anticipating the duke's arrival, and between the noise and her own troubled mind, there would be no more rest today.

With a heavy sigh, Robin stared at the ceiling, making no effort to get out of bed. She had no idea how long the Duke of Weselton was staying, but she wasn't planning on leaving her room until he did. She'd messed things up enough already. With her luck, she'd probably spark a war or something.

Her thoughts wandered to the events of last night, and Robin wondered where, exactly, she'd gone wrong. The idea itself was a good one, and Robin achieved what she set out to do. Was it the execution, then? Did—as Princess Elsa so eloquently put it—the _meanness _of the test keep Robin awake, thinking about things that couldn't be changed?

Robin rubbed her forehead in exasperation and accidently dislodged the remaining bit of scab from where she'd cracked her head open. After making sure she hadn't made herself bleed, Robin flicked it away in annoyance.

She'd screwed up then, too. In fact, she was at fault both times Princess Elsa had struck her with her magic. Almost everything she'd ever done with the older princess was nothing more than one, giant mistake.

Some distant part of her knew that eleven year olds weren't supposed to have these kind of problems. Other kids didn't struggle with basic human interaction like she did. They didn't assume that everyone hated them and that people were out to hurt them and that the world wanted them dead. But that had been Robin's life for so long she wasn't sure how to act any differently.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Robin? Are you awake?"

Gerda's muffled voice carried through the door, and the guilty feeling swirling through Robin's insides worsened. There hadn't been much opportunity to talk with the older servant lately, but between studying and spending time with the princesses, Robin hadn't exactly _made _time to talk with her, either. It was the epitome of ungratefulness, especially considering how kind she had been. Robin climbed out of bed and opened the door.

"Ah, there you are. Good morning," Gerda said. Robin returned the greeting, noticing the dark circles under the other woman's eyes and wondered if perhaps she wasn't the only one who wasn't sleeping well. Despite Gerda's apparent fatigue, there was a soft smile on her face that Robin treasured, even though she didn't understand it. "I've brought you breakfast."

Indeed she had. Robin hurried to clear a spot for Gerda to put the tray, reminded of her first morning in the castle. "I could have come down to the kitchens. You didn't have to bring anything up."

"I wanted to," Gerda said, her tone almost scolding. "I'm sorry, dear, the king has brought on so many people for this visit, and until they get used to things someone has to supervise them all. You've been keeping yourself busy without me, I hope."

"Yes," Robin said softly. "I…I've been spending quite a bit of time with Princess Anna and Princess Elsa."

This was the answer that Robin knew Gerda wanted to hear, and she was rewarded by seeing the older woman's whole face brighten. "Have you now? I was worried that…well, never you mind. And eat! It won't stay warm for long."

The porridge looked about as appetizing as a bowl of wet cement, but Robin did as she was told.

"Now, the duke is supposed to arrive later this morning," Gerda said once she was satisfied Robin's nutritional needs were being met, "but I wouldn't put it past him to get here early. He's only to stay for two days, but in the meantime, I want you staying out of that library."

Robin froze, spoon half-way to her mouth. "What?"

"King's orders," Gerda explained. "The duke is—How should I say it?—_nosy_. Why, I remember during the king's coronation, he sent one of his men to spy on Kai. Fie, what a mess that was," she chuckled, shaking her head at the memory. "It would be better for you to lie low for a few days than to take an unnecessary risk."

"I understand," Robin said glumly. It wasn't like she was planning on doing any research during the duke's visit, but she would have liked to have that escape available if needed.

Gerda must have noticed her tone, because she looked down at Robin with a critical eye. "Are you feeling all right? You look pale."

"I'm just tired. With everything going on, everyone has been…high strung," Robin equivocated.

"And they will continue to be until the Duke of Weselton leaves," Gerda said with an air of authority. "I suppose Princess Anna is nearly bursting with excitement."

"Well, yes…I guess so."

Gerda's eyebrows drew together, and Robin knew immediately she'd said something wrong. Mentally she kicked herself. She was getting far too relaxed talking to Gerda, and her carefully crafted mask was slipping. Robin felt a hint of blush creep through her cheeks.

"It's nothing, really," she said, hoping the other woman would just let the matter drop. Surely she had other things that needed attending to. It would do no good to burden her with childish problems when there were more important matters just across the horizon. As one of the head servants, Gerda had neither the time nor the energy to help Robin navigate through the murky waters that were interacting with polite society.

That's what Robin told herself, anyway. In reality, she was deeply ashamed of her actions and did not want to admit what she had done to Princess Elsa.

Gerda merely raised her eyebrows, hands going to her hips, and Robin's blush deepened. She dropped her eyes. "I got into an argument."

"With Princess Anna?"

"With Princess Elsa," Robin whispered.

This seemed to catch the servant off guard. "I didn't hear about this."

"She didn't do anything bad. She kept her power in check," Robin said. "I just…I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Gerda considered this for a while. "Speaking from experience, if you've said or done something you shouldn't have then the best thing to do is apologize. If Princess Elsa has done something untoward, I'll have a word with the king. He'll set things straight again."

"No!" Robin exclaimed. "Elsa, I mean, the princess didn't do anything. I'm the one…" her voice trailed off and she squeezed her eyes shut, horrified at her outburst. She'd just as well admitted to fighting with a _princess_. That wasn't the sort of crime that could be ignored, even in Arendelle.

A warm hand squeezed her shoulder gently, and Robin forced herself to look up at Gerda. Thankfully she didn't seem angry, and gave no indication that she was going to yell at her or hit Robin for her foolishness.

"The best thing to do is apologize," Gerda said. "Princess Elsa is a sensible girl. She's not the sort to hold a grudge." She gathered Robin's breakfast tray, glancing out the window as she stood up.

"It takes a great deal of courage to admit our mistakes," she said, almost to herself. "But until we do, it's impossible to learn from them."

She left, and Robin was more confused than ever. Standing in front of her small mirror, Robin studied herself, her fingers going to the new, pink skin hidden underneath her bangs. There probably wasn't even going to be a scar where she'd split her head. The bruises left by the marines were long gone, and aside from the strange mark on her shoulder blade she was perfectly healthy.

Robin couldn't remember the last time she could say that. The royal family kept her fed and sheltered and didn't seem to expect anything from her in return. There was no need to wonder where her next meal was coming from, no one asking her to use her power to hurt others in exchange for protection. She quite enjoyed spending time with Anna, and was starting to like Princess Elsa as well. Robin felt almost…normal.

And she had to go and screw that up. Gerda made it seem like a simple apology would fix everything, but Robin wasn't so sure, and she was afraid.

"I'll make this right," Robin promised herself. "I don't know how, but I will."

* * *

"What happened to you last night—_ow_!"

"Now is not the time, Anna."

"I waited for you _forever_. I couldn't find you _or _Robi—_ouch_!"

"Hold still, Princess Anna," a severe-looking servant said as she worked a wooden comb through Anna's hair. Of course, today of all days she _would_ have one of the worst cases of bedhead in the history of humanity.

Another woman worked on Elsa, putting the finishing touches on an elegant bun. Anna sighed wistfully at her sister, pretending not to be jealous of her effortless grace. Elsa looked like a queen today in her regal blue dress, managing to sit perfectly still with her back ramrod straight while being attended to, her gloved hands setting primly in her lap. If only Anna could steal some of that patience for herself. She'd been reprimanded more than once for nearly bouncing out of her chair.

Anna tried, she truly did, but restless energy had been building up within her with nowhere to escape. If only the Duke would hurry up and get here…

"It's never the right time with you!" Anna said. "Seriously, where were you guys? Ohmygosh, d'you think Robin found something interesting and lost track of time reading? She's done that before."

Elsa didn't answer, but her lips pursed together. Anna tried to get a better look at her, but the servant forced her to face forward.

"Elsa?" Anna asked.

The air stirred even though the windows were closed. "Now is not the time," Elsa repeated firmly, her tone indicated the subject was closed for good. "I don't care what you do with Robin, but I'm not talking to her ever again."

_Wait, what?_ Despite her order to be still, Anna's head whipped towards her sister, but it was too late. With her hair done she was free to leave. Elsa did so with a angry look that Anna never remembered seeing on her sister before. She kept in complete control of her power, but there was a hardness to her features, an unapproachable coldness that had nothing to do with her magic.

It was the same look Anna saw on Robin when Papa tried to confront her about her power. Suddenly Anna was frightened for her sister, but was helpless to stop her as Elsa walked out of the room without another word.

* * *

**AN: **Sorry for the short chapter. I really wanted to get to the Duke, but the Robin-Elsa bit ended up longer than expected, and I had surprise bout of Real Life to deal with (working 60 hours in 5 days has a curious way of cutting into writing time). I didn't want to wait another week or more to update, so you get this instead. We shall finally see the Duke of Weselton next chapter, I promise.

Also, is our beloved Duke given a name in any of the supplementary material? I've not seen anything, but it would make writing his parts a little bit easier. If not, I may just have to make something up.

Thanks for your continued patience and support. Each review I get helps me continue, even the critical ones. I don't usually do this, but I feel really bad for the filler-ish chapter, so here's a sneak peek to what's coming ahead.

Next time on _Outcast_…

"_I'm sorry, I'm not sure I heard you correctly," Agdar said as ice-water flooded his veins. "Did you just say you want your grandson to marry my daughter?"_


End file.
